


Upside Down

by magequisition



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Homophobia, M/M, bad boy!cas, nerdy!dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-11
Updated: 2013-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-20 21:19:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/589741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magequisition/pseuds/magequisition
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Novak is the school's stereotypical bad boy - always skipping class and making a big deal about his motorcycle. So when he starts paying attention to quiet nerd Dean Winchester, Dean doesn't quite know what to do about it. When he agrees to tutor Castiel in Calculus, he starts to wonder if he's made the biggest mistake of his life, but it's not long before he realises things aren't always what they seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

            Dean Winchester sat at the same table every day. It was in the back corner, and he sat at the far side of it, his back to the wall, nose in one book or another while he ate his lunch. He took his sandwich out of his backpack, taking an idle bite of it while he turned the page in his novel. He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn't hear the chair across from him scoot noisily across the floor.

            "Hi, Dean." The voice that startled him out of his concentration was deep and strangely familiar. Dean sighed and looked up.

            "Hi, Cas," he said resignedly, placing his bookmark in the book and setting it to the side.

            "How're you?" Cas asked.

            "I'm okay, Cas, just trying to eat my lunch." Cas grinned and leaned over the table.

            "What are you reading?" he asked, grabbing Dean's book and inspecting the cover. Dean waved his arm half-heartedly to try and get it. "Harry Potter, huh? My sister Anna's reading that. She's in your grade, do you know her?"

            Dean nodded. "Cas, you know I know who Anna is." Cas grinned.

            "Yeah, guess I did know that. Hey, you're taking advanced calculus, right? So you're probably working on the same stuff I'm doing. Want to get together this weekend? I'm not doing so well in the class."

            "You'd do fine in the class if you'd actually go," Dean said. Cas cocked his head slightly to the side in acknowledgement.

            "True enough. But it's boring. I'd rather be out on my bike." Dean rolled his eyes. Cas' motorbike was loud and obnoxious, and he made sure everyone saw him pull into school on it every morning.

            "Look, Cas, this has been great, but now that we've determined that I'm not going to do…whatever it is you're using calculus as a cover for, can I please finish my lunch and get back to reading my book?" Cas smirked.

            "Sure, Dean. Whatever you say," he said, pushing the chair back from the table and standing up and leaving. Dean sighed and picked up his book again, opening it briefly before dropping it back on the table.

             Castiel Novak. Dean had become vaguely acquainted with him when he'd been in the same study group the year before as Castiel's sister Anna. Castiel was a senior, two years older than Dean, and Dean had never quite been able to understand him. He'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't find Cas, as he preferred to be called, attractive, but he was so unpredictable that Dean couldn't bring himself to trust him. He was the standard "bad boy" of the school, constantly cutting classes, riding his motorcycle around, and loudly discussing his partying; and yet towards Dean he had typically displayed an odd sort of interest that Dean couldn't place, although he assumed it was some sort of power trip for him. Corrupting the innocent little nerd boy, and all that. It wasn’t as though he had anything else to offer a guy like Castiel. Cas was bold, fearless, and extroverted. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, with no fear of what other people thought. Dean, on the other hand, was shy, studious, and just this side of awkward; preferring to not talk to people he didn't know well and not always knowing what to say in situations where he wasn’t comfortable. He had several acquaintances but few friends, preferring instead to live through his books and his studies.

            So, it didn't matter that Cas had a great smile and that his eyes seemed to shine out from behind his often-messy, slightly long mop of dark hair. Dean was definitely not going to hang out with him. He glanced at the clock on the wall and with a sigh shoved his mostly-uneaten sandwich back into his bag before swinging it up onto his shoulders to go to his next class.

*****

            A week after Castiel had first suggested Dean could "help him with calculus", Dean was in the library studying for a physics exam. Cas had managed to find him every single day that week - at his locker, in the cafeteria, walking between classes, waiting for the bus. And always, the same requests for help with calculus. Dean hoped that by hiding himself in the back corner of the library, he might be able to avoid Cas today.

            He wasn't sure how many more requests he could take before he finally lost his willpower and gave in.

            He should have known he couldn't avoid Castiel if Cas wanted to find him.

            "Hi Dean," the other boy's gravelly voice said as he sat down across from him. "What are you doing today?" he asked.

            "Studying for my physics midterm tomorrow, Cas," Dean said. "I really need to work. Is there something you wanted?" He tried to ignore the slight smirk that crossed Cas' face.

            "Dean. Will you please help me with calculus?" Cas' voice was taking on a more concerned note than Dean was used to. "We can do it right here right now if you're concerned about my motives." Dean sighed and closed his eyes.

            "I can't right now, Cas. I have to study for physics. But…" Dean said, feeling his willpower fading. "If you meet me here tomorrow at lunch I can help you. Or try, anyway."

            A bright smile crossed Castiel's face. "You're great, Dean. Thanks. See ya tomorrow!" he said, standing up quickly and disappearing around the corner. Dean took off his glasses and dropped his face into his hands. He hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake, but giving in to his crushes had never ended well for him before.

            And he'd never let himself crush on a guy like Castiel until now.

            The next day, as soon as the lunch bell rang, Dean dropped off his books in his locker and headed to the library, anxiety pooling in the pit of his stomach. When he arrived at the table from the day before, he found Cas already there, legs stretched out under the table and feet resting on a chair.

            "Um, hey, Cas," Dean said as he approached.

            "Hello, Dean," Cas said, grinning. "Ready to teach me something?" Dean rolled his eyes.

            "Sure, Cas." For some reason, this seemed to delight Castiel, who laughed as he pulled a notebook out of his rarely-used bag. He slid it across the table to Dean as he sat down.

            "I haven't been to class in a couple of weeks. But apparently that's what we got assigned this week. Midterm tomorrow, so I figure I should know if I'm totally off base." Dean flipped open the notebook and skimmed through the pages until he found the most recent work. He read over the equations carefully before looking up at Cas in confusion.

            "Cas?" he asked. "Why are you acting like you don't understand calculus? There's no way you're not doing well in the class." Castiel blinked at him silently.

            "Cas, these equations are perfect and I'm pretty sure you know that. So why have you been after me for over a week to tutor you?" Dean shifted in his seat nervously. Cas smirked.

            "Maybe I wanted to see you," he said. "Maybe there was a reason I was trying to get you to come over on the weekend instead." Dean shifted in his seat again.

            "Cas, I can't," he said, hating himself for the desperation he could hear in his voice.

            "Why not?" Cas asked him in response.

            "I just…can't, Cas. Okay?" Dean stood up and turned quickly, trying to get out of the library as fast as he could. He didn't know what Cas' end goal was, but he was pretty sure it wasn't good. _And anyways,_ Dean thought to himself. _You've once again got it way too bad for a straight guy to even think about being friends with him. Even if you had anything in common._

            He walked to his locker and pulled out his backpack just as the bell rang. Slamming the metal door shut harder than was strictly necessary, he pulled his bag onto his shoulders and started walking to his next class. 


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of weeks had passed since the mock-tutoring session that had almost occurred in the library, and there had been no sign of Cas since. Dean was finally allowing himself to breathe a sigh of relief, hoping that whatever bizarre ideas Cas had gotten into his head had finally passed and Dean could get back to focusing on school and getting rid of his crush.

            He definitely didn't spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about how blue Cas' eyes were. And his head definitely didn't whip around whenever he thought he heard Castiel's distinctively rough voice.

 

            Dean was waiting for Anna in the library so they could work on their physics lab report. As he leaned over to dig his notes out of his bag, he heard the chair on the other side of the table get pulled out.

            "Hey, Anna, just getting my notes," he said. He sat up a moment later, notes in hand, and jumped when he was met by bright blue eyes and dark hair.

            "Hi, Cas. Uh. I'm just waiting for Anna. We're supposed to work on our physics lab."

            "I know," Cas said. "She wanted me to tell you she's home sick. She's got the stomach flu."

            "Why didn't she just text me?" Dean asked. "She's got my cell number." Castiel rolled his eyes.

            "Because she came home from school today puking everywhere, mumbled at me to tell you she wouldn't be here, and then took some medicine and fell asleep. Okay? So I drove in to the school, found your favourite little table here, and passed on the message. And now I'm going to go." Cas said sharply. Dean sat back slightly in his chair, stunned by the shortness in Castiel's voice.

            "I…I'm sorry?" Dean said softy. "Does…does Anna need notes or anything from this morning? We, uh, have English together…"

            "Don't know. I'll get her to text you when she's feeling better," Cas said, standing up. As Dean watched him walk away, he stood up himself.

            "Cas," he said. Cas stopped and turned.

            "Is…everything okay?" Dean asked, his brow furrowing.

            "Yeah. Super." Cas shook his head. "Any other brilliant questions?" Dean took a step backwards.

            "Sorry. Please tell Anna I hope she feels better. I'll bring her notes if she needs them." Dean sat back down at the table and watched Cas' back retreat. When he turned the corner, Dean dropped his head onto his arms on the table.

*****

            Dean stood in front of the door the next day nervously, trying to gather the courage to knock. He tugged at the hem of his sweater with the hand not holding the small stack of notes he'd brought. At last, he took a deep breath and raised a fist, knocking quietly on the door.

            _Please don't answer, please don't answer,_ he thought to himself. The door swung open in front of him and he froze, but relaxed when he was met by a shock of red hair and friendly brown eyes.

            "Hi, Dean." Anna said. "Thanks for coming by." Dean smiled.

            "No problem, Anna. How're you feeling?" Anna shrugged.

            "A little better, I guess. I'm really weak though because I couldn't eat anything yesterday or most of today. Oh," she said suddenly, stepping back. "Come on in. Sorry. I blanked out there."

            "No worries. I totally get it," Dean said as he stepped inside. "I'm glad you're starting to feel better." He glanced around. "Your house is nice," he said. Anna blushed.

            "It's small. It's home, though, I guess. It's just me and Cas, so we don't need much. Come on, the dining room's this way," she said, changing the subject quickly. Dean nodded and followed behind her.

            They'd gone over Dean's notes from English and were starting to work on reviewing the Physics lesson from that day - Dean repeating a joke their teacher had told - when the door slammed shut.

            "Hey, Anna!" Cas' voice rang out through the small house. Dean's laugh died on his lips and his face fell. Anna looked at him, confusion clear on her face.

            "Yeah, Cas, we're in here!" Anna replied.

            "Oh, hey. I brought you that tea you…" Cas trailed off. "Dean. Hey." Dean stared at his notes.

            "Hi Cas," he mumbled.

            "I brought you that tea you like, Anna," Cas continued his sentence from before and handing her a steaming paper cup. "I know it helps when you're not feeling well."

            "Thanks, Cas," Anna said, grinning at her older brother.

            "No problem." Cas grinned suddenly. "You okay still, then?" he asked.

            "Yeah, no more throwing up or anything. You going to go out on your bike for awhile?" she asked. Cas nodded.

            "I was thinking about it," he said.

            "Go on. Dean's just going over what I missed in school with me.  I don't want to fall behind." Cas' smile lit up his face again.

            "Where did you get all these studious genes from?" he asked teasingly. "What happened to taking full advantage of sick days?" Anna just rolled her eyes at him.

            "Get out. I'll see you later." Cas waved over his shoulder as he left.

            Dean's eyes had remained steadfastly glued to his paper the entire time Cas was in the room. When he left, he looked up slowly.

            "Okay, spill it." It was a command rather than a question. "The hell was that about when my brother came in? The both of you acted like you'd been slapped." Dean's eyes dropped to his notes again.

            "I don't know, Anna. He was paying attention to me a lot and kept asking me to tutor him in calculus. But I saw his work; he doesn't need me to tutor him. And I asked him about it and I don't really know what happened. I think he might have asked me out or something. But…I got overwhelmed and took off. That was a couple of weeks ago. Then I saw him yesterday and he seemed really pissed off." Anna's eyes widened in understanding.

            "It's you?" she asked questioningly. Dean raised an eyebrow at her.

            "Huh? What's me?" he asked. Anna slapped her forehead.

            "It all makes so much sense now. He has no idea you…oh my GOD my brother is such an idiot!"

            "Anna…I'm…really not following you right now." Dean said, staring blankly at his friend.

            "Two weeks ago, my brother came home really pissed off, mumbling something about straight guys and how it always happened to him. He was fine the next day, but then yesterday, when I asked him to go in to school - where he should have been anyways, by the way, but he insisted on staying home to take care of me - to talk to you for me, he got really grumpy again." Dean continued to stare at her blankly.

            "Anna, I'm not following."

            "Dean. My brother's got a thing for you, and he thinks you're straight. But I know you, Dean. I know you're not, and I also know you're really freaking bad at hiding this massive crush you've got on my brother." Dean turned bright red.

            "I don't…I mean, it's not like…" he stammered. Anna shot him her best bitchface, and Dean stopped.

            "I don't want to like him, Anna. I'm sure we have nothing in common. I've got nothing to offer him. I just like to read and study and watch TV." His voice was quiet as he made the admission. "I've been spending the last two weeks trying to convince myself that I don't have a crush on your brother. Honestly, I thought _he_ was straight." He sighed. "Apparently I've been really successful." Anna took a sip of her tea and stood up slowly, moving behind Dean and leaning down to hug him.

            "Well, he's not, and you're both idiots." she said as she squeezed him tightly. Dean brought his hands up to her forearms and squeezed them in an attempt to return her hug.

            Things had suddenly gotten a little bit more complicated. 


	3. Chapter 3

It was two more weeks before Dean saw Cas again. It was the last day of school before Christmas break, and he was shuffling things around in his locker. He was trying to decide what he needed to take home for the break and what he could leave behind, when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

            "Hey Dean." Dean whipped his head up and spun around so fast he hit his shoulder on his locker door. He winced and felt a blush rise to his face as he rubbed it.

            _Oh, good work, Dean,_ he thought crankily to himself. What he said aloud was a simple

            "Hi."

            "Um," Cas started, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets and shifting from one foot to the other, looking more uncomfortable than Dean ever remembered seeing the usually-cocky senior.  "Anna might have pointed out that I was…kind of a jerk…well actually, her words were _total asshole_ but who needs specifics? Um. I just wanted to say I was sorry. No hard feelings?" he asked hesitantly. Dean nodded.

            "Yeah, everything's fine, Cas." Cas' face lit up in a smile before he could stop it, and he quickly schooled his features into something more calm.

            "Great," he said. Dean couldn't stop himself from smiling in return as he shoved the last book he needed into his backpack and pushed his locker door shut.

            "So…um…have a good break, okay? Anna said something about hanging out sometime so…I guess I'll see you around." Suddenly finding his shoes fascinating, Dean started to turn away, pulling his backpack onto his shoulders as he headed for the exit.

            "Dean!" Cas' voice rang out in the crowded hallway and stopped Dean dead in his tracks. He didn't turn around, preferring to keep his gaze on his sneakers, but a moment later he felt someone standing beside him. Dean took a deep breath.

            "Can we go outside first?" he asked as he shot a sideways glance at Cas. He could tell  Cas had something more to say. He started to walk slowly towards the door, Cas following him until they were outside and away from the crowds. When they were outside, Dean swallowed a lump of nervousness that had risen in his throat and turned to face Cas.

            "What is it, Cas?" he asked. A look of nervousness crossed Cas' face briefly before he masked it.

            "I'm only going to suggest…ask…whatever…this once more. Then I swear I'll leave you alone. Do you wanna hang out this weekend, Dean? " There was a note of hope in Castiel's voice.

            _My brother's got a thing for you. You're both idiots._ Anna's words to him from a couple of weeks before rang in his head. He struggled against his own thoughts for a minute before he responded.

            "Yeah, okay," Dean said quietly. "I've, uh, got to catch my bus, though…Anna has my number…can you text me or something?" Cas nodded. "Okay. Um. Great. I'll talk to you soon, then?" he asked before he turned towards the bus stop and began to walk quickly away, anxiety suddenly making his stomach churn.

            He was absolutely certain he was going to regret agreeing to this.

*****

            The next morning, Dean was laying on the couch reading when his phone beeped. He picked it up and looked at the screen, but didn't recognise the number, so he opened the message.

            _Hey. It's Cas. Still want to hang out?_  Dean's heart sped up as he read the message. He hit the reply button.

            _Okay. Did you have something in mind?_ He sent the message and stared at the screen as he waited for a response, jumping a minute later when the reply popped up.

            _You busy this afternoon? Could come over and watch a movie or something._ Dean's hand shook slightly as he carefully tapped out a reply.

            _Sure. 2:00?_ He took a deep breath and hit send before he could rethink his decision.

            _Yeah ok. See you then,_ came the quick response. Dean set his phone down and looked at the time. 10:00. Four hours. He sank back down into the couch and picked up his book, staring blankly at the page and absorbing nothing.

*****

            Four hours later, Dean stood nervously in front of Castiel and Anna's house, shifting from one foot to the other as he ran his fingers through his hair once more. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock. Just as his knuckles grazed the worn blue door, it swung open.

            "Oh! Dean!" Anna said. "I didn't realise you were here. Cas is just inside. He's still in his room, I think, first door on your left. I'm just heading out," she grinned. "I'm hanging out with Ruby today." She gave him a quick hug as she sidled past him through the door. "Have fun," she said with a wink. Dean's stomach dropped as Anna walked away, waving behind her as she went. He'd been counting on having her there as a buffer, moving the conversation along when he doubtlessly said something awkward or worse - couldn't think of anything to say at all. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, slipping off his shoes before stepping further into the house. He tugged at the hem of his white and blue plaid shirt and adjusted his glasses before going to the door Anna had indicated and knocking quietly. There was no answer, and he could hear music playing inside the room, so for a moment he wondered if Cas could hear him. He was debating knocking again when suddenly the door swung open, and Cas was standing in front of him.

            In a towel.

            "Dean! Hi! Is it two already?" Castiel asked, glancing over his shoulder and looking at the clock. "Whoops. Sorry. I guess Anna's gone?" he asked. Dean nodded, feeling the blush rising in his cheeks.

            "I, uh, passed her on the way in. She let me in, I mean, while she was going out. I didn't just come in. I mean-" he stammered. Cas grinned.

            "Relax. Give me two minutes, okay? I'll be right out. Unless you wanna come in while I get dressed," Cas said, winking at him.

            "No!" Dean exclaimed, more forcefully than he'd intended. "I mean, um. I'll wait out here. Take your time. I'm fine here." Cas smiled again.

            "Whatever you like," he said, shutting the door. Dean leaned against the wall across from Cas' room, breathing deeply and trying to ignore the tightness in his pants.

            By the time Cas opened the door a couple of minutes later, he had managed to mostly regain control of himself, although his cheeks were still hot. He took another deep breath as Castiel stepped out of his room. Cas was wearing jeans and a dark blue t-shirt with the X-Men logo on it that drew just enough of Dean's attention to the lean muscles in Cas' arms that he couldn't speak at first. Cas smirked.

            "Hey, Dean. You with me?" he asked teasingly. Dean nodded and coughed slightly to clear his throat.

            "Yeah. Sorry. Spaced out,"  Dean said. "So…um…did you have a movie in mind?" he asked quietly.

            "Well, I'm not really sure what you're into yet," Cas said. Dean tried to ignore the little jolt of excitement that went through him at Castiel's use of the word _yet,_ as though he intended to find out just what Dean _was_ into. "But I thought we could watch the first Lord of the Rings movie. If you feel like it we can keep going after that, or if you want…or need…to go, we can always continue another time." Dean swallowed hard. So apparently he hadn't freaked Cas out yet. Assuming, of course, that Cas wasn't just messing with him. Dean still hadn't ruled that possibility out, regardless of what Anna had said.

            "Sounds great," was what he said.

*****

            Three and a half hours later, Dean felt more relaxed than he would have expected. There was an empty popcorn bowl abandoned on the floor in front of the couch, and Dean and Cas were sitting directly next to each other, their forearms unintentionally grazing each other.  As the credits rolled, Dean glanced over at Cas to find that the other boy was already looking directly at him. Suddenly self-conscious again, Dean pulled his arm back and began fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Cas smiled at him.

            "You like that movie, huh?" he asked. Dean nodded quietly.

            "It's one of my favourites," he replied. Cas' smile grew wider.

            "I'm glad. I kinda figured you'd like it. Do you want to watch the next one?" Dean pulled out his phone and checked the time, his face falling.

            "I do…but…I promised I'd be home for dinner today," he said, surprised at the disappointment he felt. He still thought he was completely awkward, but he was surprised at how much more comfortable he'd become already. The smile disappeared from Castiel's face, as well.

            "Oh," he said, sounding disappointed for a moment before his face brightened again. "We could always continue another time…maybe even tomorrow?" he asked, his voice hopeful. Dean nodded slowly.

            "I think I could do that." Cas' smile widened.

            "Around the same time?" he asked. "If your parents are okay with it, you could stay for dinner…we could watch both of the others." Dean looked down at his hands, trying to stem the rush of pleasure he felt at the words.

            "I'll ask…it should be okay, I think," he said quietly. He stood up and started to walk towards the door, Castiel following behind him.

            "I hope so. Let me know."

            "I will," Dean replied as he bent over beside the front door to pull his shoes on. He stood up and turned to say goodbye to Cas, only to find the older boy immediately behind him. Dean was younger than Cas, but he was slightly taller and when he turned, their faces were only inches apart.

            "Awesome," Cas said, his voice a bit deeper than normal. Dean swallowed deeply and nodded, trying to focus anywhere but Castiel's lips. When Cas' tongue darted out briefly to dampen them a second later, Dean quickly turned towards the door.

            "Yeah. Okay. So, I'll see you tomorrow, right?" he said quickly, praying his heart didn't pull some _Looney Tunes_ prank on him and burst directly out of his chest.

            "Yeah. Tomorrow," Cas said. "Text me in the morning and let me know if you can stay longer." Dean nodded.

            "Thanks for the movie, Cas. I…I had fun," he said as he opened the door and stepped outside, not waiting for an answer as he began walking up the path and turning towards his house. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, mom?" Dean asked. It was the next morning and he'd decided to finally broach the topic of staying later at Cas' that night.

            "Yeah, honey?"

            "Well, yesterday, when I was at my friend's house? We, uh, started watching Lord of the Rings and we were kinda hoping we could watch the last two movies today. I was invited to stay for dinner so that we could have more time. Is it alright if I'm home a little later tonight?" Dean asked. He shifted nervously, not sure what her reaction would be. It was rare that he asked to stay out, since he preferred to be by himself anyway. To his relief, his mother smiled at him.

            "Of course, Dean, that's fine. I'm glad you're making more friends. It's not a school night or anything, so just be home by eleven, okay?" she said. Dean nodded.

            "Thanks, mom," he said, leaning over to give her a hug. Just then, his younger brother came out of the kitchen.

            "You going over to Castiel's place again?" he asked, a teasing note to his voice. Dean's cheeks reddened.

            "Shut up, Sammy," he grumbled. Their mother did a double take.

            "Dean? Is this someone in particular?" she asked, her voice now holding a hint of interest that wasn’t there before. Dean's blush darkened.

            "No mom. Just a guy I know from school. Anna's brother - you know Anna."

            "The nice red-haired girl you studied with last year, right?" she asked. Dean nodded.

            "Cas is her brother. He's a senior. I helped him with calculus a little," Dean fibbed. He _had_ originally spent time with Castiel because he claimed to need help with calculus, after all. "He's a nice guy," he said, surprising himself with the truth of the statement.

            "And Dean's got a major crush on him," Sam interjected.

            "Shut _up,_ you little bitch!" Dean snapped.

            "No way, jerk!" Sam responded.

            "Both of you watch your language. I’m right here, you know," their mother said. Dean glared at Sam.  "Dean, curfew still stands. Sam, stop teasing your brother. It's nice that he's finally found someone he's interested in. I am getting back to my baking. If you must battle, do it outside, I don't want you destroying the house." Mary Winchester turned away from her sons and walked back into the kitchen to continue her annual Christmas baking.

            "Not a word, Sammy," Dean growled as he headed upstairs so he could shower. He heard Sam laughing behind him and whisper something about a crush.

*****

            It was precisely two o'clock when Dean knocked on Castiel's door that afternoon. It wasn't long before the door swung open and Cas was there, smiling at him.

            "You're punctual," he said.

            "I try," Dean replied quietly. Cas' smile widened as he opened the door further.

            "C'mon in," he invited, stepping aside slightly to give Dean room to enter. "I'm glad your mom was okay with you staying."

            "Me too," Dean said, allowing a small smile to cross his face as he entered. He shed his shoes and jacket and they walked into the living room, where Cas had already set up the movie and set out a bowl of popcorn.

            "You want a drink?" he called behind him as he went into the kitchen.

            "Sure, thanks," Dean said. "Whatever you're having is fine." Castiel came out of the kitchen a moment later carrying two cans of coke. He handed one to Dean as they sat down on the couch.

            "So, you ready, then?" Cas asked. Dean turned his head to look at Cas as he nodded. Castiel grinned as he pressed play on the DVD remote.

*****

            "Did you really make this, Cas?" Dean asked incredulously as he swallowed his last bite. They'd taken a break in between the two movies to heat up a pizza Castiel had made earlier that day. Cas grinned proudly.

            "Don't tell anyone. You'll ruin my reputation." Dean laughed. Over the course of the second movie, he'd found himself feeling more and more comfortable with Cas.  He leaned over and set his plate on the floor before pulling his legs back up on the couch.

            "Your secret is safe with me," Dean said, still laughing a little. "Who knew that bad-boy Castiel was really master-chef Castiel?" Cas rolled his eyes and threw a small piece of sauce-laden crust at Dean, who tried to dodge it. Castiel's aim was worse than it looked, however, and when Dean ducked he found himself smacked in the cheek by the bit of food, which had been headed for his shoulder. Sauce smeared across Dean's skin as the crust bounced to the floor. Dean leaned over and picked the crust up off the carpet and tossed it on to his plate before reaching blindly for a napkin to wipe off his cheek, but his hand came up empty. He glanced over to see Cas crouched on the floor beside him, holding the stack of napkins.

            "C'mon, Cas, gimme one," he complained. "I promise not to tell. Let me wipe my face off?" he asked. Cas grinned.

            "I gotcha," he said quietly. Much quieter than Dean was used to. Castiel took one napkin off the top of the stack and set the rest aside. Dean reached out for the napkin but Cas dodged his grasp easily and scooted closer towards the couch. With his free hand he grabbed Dean's outstretched wrist and lowered it, hanging on to it loosely before reaching forward with the hand holding the napkin and using it to wipe the sauce off Dean's cheek. Dean swallowed hard at both the contact and the sudden realisation that Cas was right there, that it would only take a short movement on his part and he could press his lips against Castiel's.

            _No no shit no stop thinking about it stop looking at his mouth no damn it Dean what are you doing stop stop stop_

His frantic thoughts were interrupted when Cas pulled the napkin away from his face and dropped it on the table in a crumpled ball. His eyes never left Dean's and his hand was still holding Dean's wrist.

            "C…Cas…I…" Dean started weakly. Castiel didn't respond for a moment, but then his grip on Dean's wrist tightened slightly and he leaned forward, kissing Dean firmly. Dean froze briefly in shock before allowing himself to relax and return the kiss, surprising himself with how easy it was. His tongue slid along Cas' lower lip and Cas parted his lips, allowing Dean's searching tongue to enter his mouth. Dean lifted his hand and ran it once through Cas' scruffy hair before Cas pulled away slowly, a smile on his face. They sat there for a moment unmoving, both with satisfied expressions. Dean found his voice, albeit shaky, first.

            "So…now what?" he asked slowly.

            "I dunno," Cas said quietly before leaning forwards to kiss Dean again.

*****

            They spent the entirety of the third movie of the series with their arms wrapped around each other. Anna came home partway through it, but neither boy noticed. She poked her head into the living room and upon seeing them, covered her mouth to contain her giggle of joy before running silently to her bedroom to text Ruby.

            After the movie ended and the credits rolled, Dean and Castiel stayed curled up together for several minutes before Dean felt his eyes starting to drift closed.

            "Crap…" he mumbled. "I should probably get going before I fall asleep…" he said. Castiel sighed.

            "I guess you can't stay?" he asked. Dean shook his head as he unwrapped his arms from around Cas' torso.

            "I have to be home by eleven…and…I don't think it would be a good idea for me to stay now, anyway." Cas' face fell.

            "I'm sorry," he said. "I hope I didn't cross a line." Dean shook his head again.

            "No, it's not that," he said quickly. "I just…what is this, Cas? What's going on with us?" Castiel shrugged in response.

            "I don't know, Dean," he said. "I like you. You're a deceptively good kisser," he winked and Dean blushed. "Who would have thought? But even before I knew you were a good kisser, I knew I liked you. You're smart. You're funny. You're goddamn gorgeous. And I'm a mess, but for some reason it seems like maybe you like me, too. So…whatever's going on, I want to give it a shot." Dean's stomach flipped violently as he listened to Cas' admissions.

            "I…" he paused and took a deep breath to steady himself. "I'd like that too, Cas. I mean, I guess, if that's where this is going…oh, shit, I don't know how to do this…" he mumbled the last bit to himself, blushing furiously. Cas waited patiently as Dean tried to sort out his thoughts.

            "Fuck it," Dean said. "Cas, this is going to sound completely lame, but I can't think of another way of saying it. I don't really know what I’m doing. I don't know if this is what you're looking for. But…do you want to be my boyfriend?" His voice was shaking slightly despite his attempts to sound confident. Cas grinned.

            "Until now, I've never been able to answer that question like this," he replied before leaning forward to kiss Dean soundly. It was a long, slow, lazy kiss, and when they broke apart a few minutes later they both had wide grins on their faces. Dean's fell slightly when he caught sight of the clock on the DVD player.

            "I gotta go," he said sadly. "I'm going to miss curfew." Cas slid a hand down Dean's arm and grabbed his hand.

            "Can I walk you?" he asked, sounding almost shy. Dean grinned and leaned forward to press a quick, chaste kiss to Cas' lips.

            "I was hoping you'd ask," he said simply before standing up and walking towards the front door, hand in hand with his boyfriend. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor warning for underage drinking in this chapter.  
> Man, getting this done was a bit of an ordeal. But it's done, finally! Thanks to Robin, as always, who salvaged it into something readable lol.

Winter break began to pass by faster than it ever had before. Two days after Christmas Dean was sitting on his bed reading when his phone beeped loudly from the desk.  He reached over and picked it up, a grin splitting his face when he saw a message from Cas on the screen. He slid his thumb across the bottom of the display to open it.

            _Want to come over for new years? Thinking of having a party. Nothing major. Sam can   come if you want. Probably just you guys, Anna, and Ruby._

Dean grinned.

            _Sounds good to me. Let me check but I'm sure mom will be glad to get rid of me for once._

He sent the message then headed downstairs to talk to his mom.

*****

            Four days later, Dean stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, running his fingers carefully through his short hair.  Suddenly, Sam threw open the door.

            "Sam! What if I was taking a leak or something?" Dean asked angrily.

            "You've been in here for twenty minutes. I knew you weren't on the toilet, jerk. God, what are you so worried about, anyway? He's already your boyfriend, it's not like you've got to impress him or something. Get out. I want to get ready."

            "Oh yeah? Who do _you_ have to get ready for?" Dean asked, his voice grouchy. Sam's face turned pink.

            "I need to shower, okay? It's not like I'm going to be in here forever putting on makeup or whatever it is you were doing," he said defensively. Dean smirked.

            "Yeah, sure…it's Ruby, isn't it?" he asked. Sam's blush darkened.

            "Shut up."

            "I knew it!" Dean crowed. "Watch out, Sammy, Ruby'll eat you alive if you're not careful…though I guess that's what you're hoping for…" he left the bathroom laughing.

            "Jerk," Sam muttered again as Dean closed the door on him.

           

            A couple of hours later, they were knocking on Castiel and Anna's door. Anna swung the door open with a smile on her face.

            "Hi, Dean! Hi Sam," she said, stepping aside to let them in. "C'mon in! Cas is in the living room and Ruby should be here any time."

            "Hey, Anna," Dean said as he pulled off his shoes. Sam followed suit and the three teenagers walked towards the living room.

            "By the way Sam, Ruby's super excited that you're here tonight," Anna said offhandedly. Dean burst out laughing when Sam started to cough violently.

            "Hey, you," Cas said, smiling as they walked into the living room. He stood up and crossed the room to wrap his arms around Dean. "You okay, Sam?" He asked with a grin after he had hugged Dean tightly. Sam nodded.

            "All I did was mention that Ruby was looking forward to seeing him tonight," Anna said innocently. Cas grinned.

            "Geez Anna, poor Sam never even had a chance," he said, winking at Sam. Sam blushed and sank down onto the couch, clearly regretting his decision to come to the party. Just then, the doorbell rang again.

            "That's Ruby. I'll get it," Anna said, heading towards the front door while Dean and Cas moved to sit beside Sam on the couch, Cas' arm wrapped around Dean. They sat in silence for a minute, waiting for Anna and Ruby to come back. As they sat, Dean felt Cas tense up as his eyes shot towards the door when there was none of the usual teen girl squealing to be heard.

            "Cas? What's wrong?" he asked nervously. Cas shook his head.

            "Nothing. Wait here. I'll be right back," Cas said as he stood up and walked down the hallway towards the front door.

            "What in the _hell_ are you doing here?" Dean heard Cas' voice, loud and irritated, from the front door. He and Sam glanced at each other nervously, but didn't hear anything else until the front door slammed and Cas, Anna, and a guy they didn't recognise came into the living room.

            "Looks like we've got an extra party guest tonight," Anna said, clearly trying to keep her voice cheerful. "Dean, Sam…this is our cousin, Gabriel."  The boy with the floppy light brown hair grinned.

            "Hey there, boys!" he said enthusiastically. "Nice to meet ya." Dean sank down slightly into the couch while Sam smiled widely.

            "So, Gabe, what _are_ you doing here, exactly?" Anna asked as Cas collapsed on the couch beside Dean again. Gabriel shrugged.

            "Like I said. Balthazar had to go out of the country again. Nobody else could take me, so he dropped me off here and left. I guess he didn't want to risk you saying no." Cas groaned.

            "Fan-fucking-tastic," he grumbled. "I mean, it's not your fault Balthazar's an idiot, Gabe, and you're welcome to stay, but, damn, it'd be nice if your brother would _call_ first or something."

            "Um, Cas?" Dean said quietly. After spending most of his winter break with Cas, he'd almost completely gotten rid of the nervousness that came with being around him, but now it was creeping back into his voice. "D'you want Sam and I to go home? I mean, it seems like things are getting kind of complicated here..." he mumbled.

            "No way," Cas said definitively. "It's New  Year's Eve and this is a party. It's not like there isn't room for one more."

            The doorbell rang again, and Anna sprang up from the armchair she'd been sitting in. Gabriel took advantage of her absence to steal her spot.

            "Okay, this time that has to be Ruby. Be right back!" she said, dashing down the hallway. This time, the expected squeals of _Happy New Year_ were quickly heard. In his corner of the couch, Sam sat up a little straighter while trying to create room between himself and Dean. He brushed a hand through his hair, trying to get it out of his face. Dean snorted.

            "Be a little more obvious, could you, Sammy?" he muttered. Sam blushed, his cheeks turning pinker as Anna and Ruby entered the room.

            "Hey Ruby," Dean said as he settled in closer to Cas' side. He knew Ruby, but not well, mainly through association as Anna's best friend. Sam, of course, had developed an instant crush on the pretty brunette on his first day at the high school. Ruby smiled brightly.

            "Hey guys!" she said. Sam edged himself closer to the arm of the couch, trying to draw attention to the admittedly small gap between himself and Dean. Ruby smirked and walked over to the couch, settling in between the brothers.

            "You're Sam, right?" she asked, turning to face him. "Dean's brother?" Sam's usual cool composure failed him.

            "Uh, yeah, um, hi!" he stammered. Dean rolled his eyes and tried to stifle a laugh.

*****

            Three hours and several beers later (nobody knew exactly how Cas had gotten his hands on it and they didn't bother to ask), Sam was passed out on the floor and everyone else was clustered around the TV loudly watching the ball drop.

            "5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" they all shouted in unison. Cas was standing behind Dean with his hands on Dean's hips. He turned Dean around quickly, wrapping his arms around Dean's waist and kissing him solidly on the lips. Dean grinned as he returned the kiss, lifting his arms to wrap around Castiel's neck.

            "Happy New Year, babe," Cas said quietly, still sober enough to regulate his volume. "I'm really glad you're here." Dean nuzzled against Cas' neck gently.

            "Me too," he said, placing a soft kiss at the join between Cas' neck and shoulder.

            "Ugh, would you two get a room?" Anna teased. "I don't care what you get up to but pants stay on in front of me, okay?" Dean blushed and buried his face in Cas' shoulder.

            "Ahh, shut up, Anna," Cas said without even a hint of anger in his voice, his hand splayed across Dean's back. He glanced over to the side and saw Gabriel looking quizzically at Sam sprawled across the floor, one eyebrow raised.

            "So, who wants to help me get the moose into bed?" he asked. Cas shot him a glare.

            "Jesus, Gabe, you just _met_ him. And he's drunk. You can't take advantage of a poor innocent freshman like that." Gabriel glared.

            "First of all, no way is gigantor a freshman. He's like, twice my size. Second of all, could you have a _little_ faith in me, cuz? Pretty sure kiddo here is going to be hurting in the morning if he sleeps like that. Well, more than he's gonna be hurting already," Gabriel added as he remembered how much Sam had drank.

            "Sam's a freshman, Gabriel," Dean said, not lifting his head from Cas' shoulder. "He's a year younger than me."

            "What the hell kinda growth hormones did your mother feed him?" Gabriel asked incredulously. Cas rolled his eyes at his cousin.

            "I'm gonna go pull out the air mattress for you, Gabe, then I'll help you get Sam onto the couch after I do." He kissed the top of Dean's head. "Tired?" he asked quietly. Dean nodded. "C'mon," Cas said. Dean lifted his head and let Cas guide him towards his room. Once there, Dean pulled off his shirt and dropped it to the floor before collapsing on Cas' bed. Cas swallowed hard at the sight of Dean lying half-naked in _his_ bed before leaning forward to pull the black quilt over him.

            "I'll be right back," he said softly as Dean's eyes drifted closed. Cas moved to the closet to pull out the air mattress - he hadn't deflated it the last time it had been used, thankfully, he'd been too lazy - and a couple of spare blankets to bring out to Gabriel and Sam. He disappeared from the room and entered the living room again. He and Gabriel woke up Sam enough to get him moved to the couch and covered in a blanket before he fell asleep again. Cas stuck a trash can beside the couch, having the foresight to assume Sam would need it in the morning and probably wouldn't make it to the bathroom on the other side of the house.

            "Behave yourself," Cas hissed at Gabriel. His cousin was a year younger than he was and although he was a generally decent guy, his flirtatious ways had gotten him into trouble more than once. Gabriel glared at him.

            "I _can_ occasionally do that on my own, you know," he replied. His eyes grazed over the sleeping form of Sam as he tossed his own blanket over the air mattress. Cas rolled his eyes in response as he retreated back to his own bedroom. He found Dean wrapped around one of his pillows and grinned. Cas ditched his own shirt, slipped into the bed behind Dean and tugged the boy tight to his chest, dropping a light kiss to Dean's shoulder.

            "Night Dean. Happy new year," he whispered, feeling so content that he couldn't even bring himself to hate the cheesiness of the entire situation.

*****

            "I hate everything and want to die," Sam announced, wincing at the sound of his own voice.

            "That's what happens, Samsquatch. You gotta pace yourself." Gabriel said cheerfully. He'd unearthed a bag of Starburst candies from somewhere and was eating them one by one. He tossed a wrapped candy in Sam's direction, hitting him in the forehead.

            "Eat shit, Gabriel," Sam muttered, turning his head to bury his face in his arms.

            "Such language!" Gabriel said, voice full of mock-offense.

            "How come you don't feel like crap, anyway?" Sam asked. "You drank just as much as I did."

            "This ain't exactly my first rodeo, Sammy. Plus, I drank water before I went to bed."

            "Don't call me that," Sam grumbled before pushing himself upright on the couch. "Water. That's a good idea," he said as he slowly tried to stand up. Once he got to his feet, he  wobbled slightly then ran in the direction of the bathroom rather than the kitchen.  Gabriel smirked before standing up from his chair and going to the kitchen himself, grabbing a bottle of water and taking it into the bathroom for Sam.

            Dean woke up slowly, snuggled tightly against Cas.  He opened his eyes, wincing slightly as the bright sunlight streaming through the window sent a shot of pain through his throbbing head. He wiggled himself around in Cas' arms so he could face his boyfriend, and realised Cas was already awake.

            "Morning," Dean said quietly. Cas grinned.

            "Morning," he replied. "How are you feeling?"

            "Head's aching a bit...but I think I'm okay." Cas nodded.

            "Well, that's better than it could have been. Although you weren't as bad as Sam last night." Dean shot upright when Cas mentioned his brother.

            "Awe crap, Sammy! Is he okay?" Dean asked, pressing his fingers to his forehead to try and stop the dizziness that had hit him when he'd sat up so suddenly. Cas rubbed Dean's lower back lightly.

            "He's alright. I heard him puking a few minutes ago, but he'll be fine. I made sure he got up on the couch and everything last night."  Cas smirked. "Plus, I think Gabe crashed on the floor right next to him. He'll make sure Sam's okay." Dean nodded and lay back down.

            "Gabriel seems...interesting," he said cautiously.

            "Gabe's a good guy, really. He's a little out there, but he's a good guy. I guess I need to figure out the house arrangement today," Cas said, groaning slightly. "Good thing I can hold my alcohol better than you can," he said, leaning forward to kiss Dean's forehead.

            "I'd better go check on Sam, maybe try and get him home," Dean said. Cas nodded.

            "I hope you don't have to go yet...but check on Sam. I'm going to call Michael." Dean nodded as he climbed slowly out of the bed. Cas smiled as he watched Dean walk out of the room towards the bathroom and couldn't help thinking that it was a sight he wouldn't mind seeing again.

*****

            "Okay, okay, I've got it. Yeah, okay. Thanks, Uncle Michael," Castiel said with a sigh. He hung up his cell phone and dropped it, falling backwards onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. He heard a soft knock at the open door and turned his head.

            "Dean," he said. "You don't have to knock." Dean entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed beside Cas.

            "Are you okay?" he asked tentatively. Cas smiled and reached out to wrap his hand around Dean's.

            "Looks like Gabe's going to be here awhile. I just got off the phone with my uncle, Gabriel and Balthazar's dad. He's technically mine and Anna's legal guardian, actually. He got custody of us after our parents died, but we never lived with him and rarely see him. He owns this house and puts money in my bank account every week so that I can get the stuff Anna and I need. He's some huge executive and spends most of his time in Europe. I'm okay, though. It's just going to take some getting used to. Apparently he already knew Gabriel was here. Balthazar couldn't be bothered to call _me,_ but he called their dad." Dean squeezed his hand lightly.

            "I'm sorry, Cas. You shouldn't have to deal with all that. You're only seventeen," he said quietly. Cas grinned.

            "Ah, it's okay. I'm used to it by now. It was rough at first; I did some things I'm not proud of. I guess that's where my reputation comes from," Cas smirked.  "But hey, I think it's turning out okay." Dean smiled.

            "Well, you don't have to deal with it all  by yourself anymore," he said shyly. Cas leaned forward, placing a hand on the back of Dean's head and kissing him firmly. They broke apart a minute later.

            "So, how's Sam doing?" Cas asked, changing the subject.

            "You were right, Gabriel's watching out for him. He threw up a couple of times earlier but Gabe's pouring water into him. He seems to be okay. My, uh, mom's kind of pissed, though. She wasn't expecting us to be here so late today, I don't think. I've gotta get Sam home." Dean shifted uncomfortably and stared at his lap. Cas nodded.

            "Sure," he said. Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel's neck.

            "I really did have fun last night," he said.

            "Me too," Cas agreed.

            "I can't wait until next time."

            "Me neither," Cas smiled.

            Twenty minutes later, Dean and Sam were finally leaving. Sam was blinking from the harsh sunlight as they walked outside and Dean promised to call Cas later that evening.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a small amount of homophobic behaviour from an anonymous source.

Dean didn't see Cas again until the first day of school. He and Sam had both gotten into a fair bit of trouble for Sam coming home hungover, and they'd both been grounded for the rest of the break. Dean hadn't really cared - there was only a couple of days between New Years' and the start of school, and he spent them sprawled out on his bed, reading and texting with Cas. Dean suspected the punishment was mostly for show, since his only real restriction was that he couldn't go out anywhere. Despite that, he got up early on the first day of school to give himself extra time to get ready. After spending way too long (as Sam loudly told him when he left the bathroom) on his hair, he went back to his bedroom to get dressed. He pulled on jeans and a long sleeved black shirt, pulling a light green button up shirt on over top. After carefully inspecting his reflection in the mirror and deeming it satisfactory, he walked downstairs to have breakfast before he left the house with Sam.

*****

            Dean arrived at school early. He checked the parking lot as he walked towards the building from the bus stop and grinned when he saw Cas already leaning against his motorcycle. Dean shifted his backpack more evenly onto his shoulders and sped up slightly as he walked towards Cas.

            "Hey you," Cas said, an easy smile crossing his face as Dean approached.

            "Hi," Dean said. He glanced around out of habit and, noticing the parking lot was essentially empty, wrapped his arms around Cas' shoulders in a tight hug. Cas' arms slid around his waist, hugging him in return and kissing his jaw softly just below his ear. Dean's face flushed as he stepped back slightly.

            "You ready for today?" Cas asked. Dean nodded. They'd decided not to hide their relationship at school, although they weren't planning to flaunt it either. Cas wrapped his hand around Dean's and they walked towards the building.

            The morning passed without incident. Anna had grinned widely  at Dean when she'd come into the classroom, and his first three classes had been a breeze. When his lunch period arrived, Dean headed to his locker, happy - though confused - to see Cas leaning against it.

            "Hi," Dean said, smiling. "How'd you get here so fast?" Cas winked at him.

            "Magic," he said.  Dean raised an eyebrow.

            "Did you even go to third period?" he asked, smirking.

            "The world may never know," Cas deadpanned. Dean shook his head and laughed.

            "Let's go eat," he said, twisting his fingers into Cas' as they started to walk towards the cafeteria.

            A few minutes later they were sitting at a table, lunches in front of them. Dean couldn't stop himself from looking around nervously every few seconds.

            "You okay, babe?" Cas asked him. Dean's jaw clenched.

            "Yeah," he said, his voice tight. Cas glanced around.

            "You're a liar. What's wrong?" he asked. Dean shook his head.

            "Nothing. Just saw some assholes staring at us as we came in, and I can't shake the feeling they're still staring." He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. Cas reached across the table and grabbed Dean's hand again.

            "Fuck 'em," Cas said. "We're not doing anything wrong. If anyone gives you crap and I'm not there, tell me." Dean nodded. "I mean it, Dean. Promise me."

            "I will, Cas. I promise," he said quietly. Just then, Sam, Anna, and Ruby came up to their table.

            "Mind if we join you boys?" Ruby asked. "We wouldn't want to...interrupt anything." Dean rolled his eyes.

            "Ruby, we're in the middle of the cafeteria. What could you possibly be interrupting?" Dean asked. Ruby smirked in response. "Ugh. Just sit down, would you?" he said irritably.

            "Alright, alright, jeez. Somebody's on edge," Ruby said, sitting in the chair beside Dean. Sam quickly sat in the open seat next to Ruby and Anna took a seat across the table, next to Cas.

            "Oh, Cas," Dean said. "I was wondering - is Gabriel around today? I haven't seen him anywhere." Castiel rolled his eyes.

            "Ugh, there's a whole huge mess with Gabe's schooling. He was in school when he lived with Balthazar, but it was some weird alternate program and not everything is transferring properly. He's in meetings all day with the guidance counselor to try and figure out what he can register in." Dean grimaced.

            "That sucks." Just as he took a bite of his sandwich, a loud voice suddenly boomed from behind him.

            "Heyyy, cousins and assorted friends!"

            "Speak of the devil," Cas said as he laughed.

            "Hey now. I'm not that bad," Gabriel said. He moved around the table and reached over Cas' shoulder, grabbing a small handful of chips from the bag in front of him before sitting beside Anna.

            "So how are the meetings going, Gabe?" Sam asked. Gabriel shrugged.

            "So far I'm registered in English  and US History, I'm on track for both of those. I still have to do a progress test or something to figure out what math class I can register in.  Other than that they haven't really told me. It's so _boring,_ though. Just constant discussion on what I've done and never-ending questions. _What do you want to do, Gabriel? What do you want to be? Where do you want to go to college?_  Ugh. I'm sixteen, I don't freakin' know!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of skittles, ripping into it enthusiastically. Sam cringed.

            "Sorry I asked," he said. Gabriel shrugged.

            "I guess it'll be over soon, anyway. I have to go back after lunch period is over to write the stupid math assessment." As if on cue, the bell rang, signifying the end of their break. Gabriel groaned. "Well, I guess it's back to being made to feel guilty that I haven't got my thirties planned out yet. Catch you guys after school." He stood up, stretched, and left the cafeteria slowly. The others threw their belongings back in their bags before standing up themselves and splitting off to go to their respective classes. Dean and Cas were the last to leave.

            "I guess I should really go to chem, huh?" Cas asked, one side of his mouth quirking up as he looked at Dean, who looked at him skeptically.

            "Are you seriously asking me that?" he asked. Cas laughed.

            "Nah. I just wanted to see what your expression would be." He leaned forward to brush a light kiss across Dean's lips, bringing a smile out of the younger boy. " That means I've gotta go the opposite way from you though. Text me after school?" Dean nodded in response, squeezing Cas' hand as they left the cafeteria together before turning to head to their respective classes.

*****

            The rest of the day passed much slower than Dean had hoped.  He had to stay late after his English class to review his essay topic with his teacher, and by the time he was done he was more than ready to go home. He walked back to his locker slowly, digging his phone out of his pocket to text Cas. As he slid his thumb across the screen to unlock it, he was shoved hard from the side. He crashed hard into a locker and fell to the ground. His head snapped up and he looked around, but he couldn't see who had pushed him. Assuming they'd run down the adjacent corridor, he straightened his glasses and stood up slowly, while stretching his limbs to make sure he wasn't hurt. Satisfied that there was no permanent damage, he glanced around once more to make sure there was nobody nearby. As he scanned the hall, he noticed a piece of paper on the ground beside him. He bent down to pick it up. There was one word scrawled on it.

            _Abomination._

Shaking, Dean turned and headed out the nearest door, forgetting entirely about going to his locker.

*****

            Later that evening, Dean's phone buzzed for the fifth time. He picked it up and slowly unlocked it again.

            _Dean. What's wrong. You aren't answering my texts. I'm worried._

Dean blinked back tears. After what had happened at the school that afternoon, he hadn't been able to bring himself to text Cas, despite his promise at the lunch table. He felt badly for making his boyfriend worry, though, so he finally began to tap out a response.

            _I'm ok. Sorry. Just had a bad afternoon._

He sent the message, hoping it would be enough for Cas to stop asking. He'd noticed a bruise forming on his hip where it had struck the locker earlierand he was hoping it wouldn't get big enough to spread past the waistband of his jeans. He rubbed at it gingerly while he waited for Cas' response. His phone buzzed in his hand.

            _Come over?_

Dean sighed. He'd expected something like that.

            _Can't. School night and it's already 8. I'm okay, Cas. I'm tired though. I think I'll go to sleep. See you tomorrow?_

He swallowed hard as he sent the message, hoping it would deter any further questions. The next message came very quickly.

            _Ok. Don't take the bus tomorrow. I'll walk with you. Night Dean._

_Night Cas._

Dean dropped his phone on his desk with a clatter. Standing up from his bed, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He ran into Sam on the way out of the bathroom.

            "Dean? Did something happen at school today?" he asked. "I've hardly seen you at all except for lunch, and you didn't come down for dinner. Mom made burgers." Dean sighed.

            "Nothing, Sammy. Just not feeling well. I'm going to bed early, okay?" Sam shot him his best bitchface.

            "Cas is worried too, you know. You're a really bad liar." Dean's eyes drifted shut for a minute.

            "It's nothing, Sam!" he snapped. "Just drop it, okay?" He pushed past his younger brother and went back down the hall to his room. He shut the door with more force than was necessary and dropped himself back on his bed, trying to avoid putting pressure on his bruised hip.

*****

            Dean woke up late the next morning. He dressed quickly, breathing a sigh of relief when his jeans fully covered the purple bruise on his hip. He pulled on a slightly longer than normal top to make sure it would remain covered and ran down the stairs quickly. As he reached the bottom, there was a knock at the door.

            "That's Cas," he shouted. "I'll see you later, mom!" He picked up his backpack and swung it over his shoulders before opening the door.

            "Hey," Cas said, his eyes searching Dean's.

            "Hi Cas," Dean said quietly.  
            "You ready to go?" Cas asked. Dean nodded and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Cas slipped an arm around Dean's waist, underneath his backpack, and Dean winced as Cas' hand grazed his bruised hip. Cas stopped instantly.

            "Dean, what's wrong." It wasn't a question.

            "Nothing Cas, can we just go? I really don't want to be late for bio, Mrs. Milton is a nightmare when you're late..." he trailed off. Cas stayed rooted in place, turning his head so that he was looking directly at Dean.

            "Dean, talk to me." Cas said, his voice pleading. Dean felt what he was sure was all of the air escape from his body as he sagged against Cas' steady frame and explained what had happened after school the day before.

            "It fucking said WHAT?" Cas raged. "And you didn't see who it was?" he asked. Dean shook his head slowly.

            "No. I looked but I think they took off down the other hall. I don't have any idea who it was. I'm sure it was just a one-off, Cas. Let's just leave it." Cas clenched the hand that was not around Dean's waist (now well above his injured hip) into a fist.

            "I guess I _can't_ do anything," he grumbled, "since the coward took off and wouldn't even show their damn face." He pressed a kiss to the top of Dean's head. "But if I ever find out who it was, they're toast." His voice was determined as he turned Dean and pulled him into a tight hug. He coughed to clear his throat before continuing.

            "C'mon. Can't have you late for Mrs. Milton's class." They pulled apart slightly, still holding hands as they started to walk in the direction of the school. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the previous chapter, there is a small amount of homophobic language and bullying in this chapter.

The next couple of weeks passed without incident. Dean came and went to classes as usual, and if he was a little bit more wary of his surroundings and tried a little harder not to stay late after class, well, that was his only concession to what had happened. He was determined not to let it affect him living his life.

            A couple of days before Dean's birthday, he was hanging out at Cas' house after school. They were lounging sideways on the couch watching a movie. Dean was sitting in front of Cas and leaning casually against his chest, the older boy's arms wrapped around his waist.  As the credits started to roll, Cas kissed the back of Dean's head before speaking.

            "So. What do you want to do for your birthday?" he asked. "You haven't really said." Dean shrugged.

            "Nothing, I guess. I've never really been a huge party person. Oh, but my mom wanted me to invite you, Gabriel, and Anna over for dinner. There's going to be cake." Cas smiled.

            "Sounds great. We'll definitely be there. But c'mon, there's gotta be something special you want to do. Don't make me get creative, it'll ruin my rep," Cas joked. Dean tipped his head back to give an upside-down glance at Cas before grinning.

            "Pretty sure you've already done a good job of that yourself. I mean, you even go to class sometimes now!" Dean said. Cas laughed.

            "Hmm, good point," he replied before leaning forward to drop a kiss on Dean's forehead. "Seriously though, Dean. We should do something. Even if we just go see a movie or something, I want to do something with you for your birthday." Dean snuggled back into Cas' chest.

            "I'll think about it. I promise," he said. "It won't be until this weekend anyway, so I've got time, right?" Cas nodded against the top of Dean's head.

            "Yeah, you've got time," he said.

*****

            Two days later it was Wednesday and also Dean's birthday. He arrived at school at the usual time and went to his locker. He took a long sip of coffee before setting his travel mug on the floor and starting to spin out the combination on his locker. When he opened it, he jumped as a few balloons drifted out and a large sign reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAN!" had been taped to the inside of his locker door. He heard laughter behind him as he spun around to find Sam, Cas, Gabriel, and Anna all standing there.

            "Happy birthday, Dean," Sam said through his giggles. Cas stepped towards Dean and wrapped his arms around the other boy. Dean buried his face into Cas' shoulder.

            "I'm going to kill you jerks. How'd you even pull this off?" he mumbled.

            "Me and Sam made the sign," Anna started with a grin. "Gabe brought the balloons and got into your locker to set it all up this morning. Sam watched you open your locker for the combination yesterday. Happy birthday!" Dean glanced up, face bright red, and noticed a few people looking at the small group standing around his locker. He pressed his face back into Cas' shoulder.

            "I hate you all," Dean said as he wrapped hsi arms around Cas' waist. Cas just laughed and hugged him tighter.

            "Yeah, I can tell," he said. "Wanna close up your locker? Should get you to class." Dean fumbled behind himself blindly before sighing in frustration and pulling away from Cas reluctantly. He slid his hand along Cas' hip before grabbing his hand. Dean shut the locker with a hard push and locked it before picking up his bag and swinging it over one shoulder.

            The rest of the school day passed uneventfully and before Dean knew it, the final bell was ringing. He clapped his binder shut and stuck it in his bag. He left the classroom, unsurprised to find Cas already standing outside the door.

            "Cutting last period again?" Dean teased before leaning forward to kiss Cas lightly. Cas smiled as he twisted his fingers between Dean's and they turned to walk out the main doors, heading for the parking lot.

            "Eh, I didn't miss anything," he replied with a wink. Dean rolled his eyes, grinning widely. 

            "Are you going to come straight over to my place?" he asked.

            "Actually, I've got to head home for a few minutes first. I've got my bike, and I'm going to walk with Anna to your place so she doesn't have to walk home alone tonight. Because let's face it, Gabe's not the most reliable sometimes. Plus, I need to grab something before I come over." Dean nodded as they stopped next to the aforementioned motorcycle.

            "See you in a little while, then?" he asked.

            "I'll be there in an hour, tops," Castiel said, running a hand over Dean's hair and kissing him once more before stepping back reluctantly.

            "Can't wait," he said, squeezing Castiel's hand lightly before turning and walking towards the bus stop.

            "Dean," Cas called from behind him. Dean turned to face him and Cas walked towards him, putting his hands on Dean's shoulders and kissing him hard. Dean stiffened slightly in surprise before relaxing into the kiss. Aware of the fact that they were still in the parking lot, they kept the kiss short.

            "Happy birthday babe," Cas said with a wink. "I'll see you soon." Dean smiled and licked over his lips once before biting at his lower lip, a blush rising in his cheeks.

            "See you soon," he said softly before heading to the bus stop for real this time.

*****

            Dean's bus was late, so he'd been home barely fifteen minutes before there was a knock at the door.

            "I got it!" he shouted, remembering his mother's earlier words of "excited to _finally_ meet this boy," and "he seems to be doing really good things for you." Dean was determined not to let his mother's over-excitement be the first thing that greeted Cas at the door. He dashed down the stairs and pulled open the door, stepping aside to let Anna, Gabriel, and Cas come inside.

            "Hi guys," he said.

            "Hey, Dean!" Gabriel said enthusiastically. "Where's that moose brother of yours? I've gotta show him something." Dean raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

            "Upstairs, Gabe. First door on your right." Gabriel kicked off his shoes and dashed up the stairs, leaving the other three teenagers standing in an amused silence for a minute. Dean shook his head, a grin on his face, and turned towards Cas and Anna.

            "So, uh, come on in," he said. He led them into the living room. "I figured we could watch a movie or something," he said.

            "Sounds good," Cas said, sitting on the floor in front of the couch and reclining against it while Anna sat on the opposite end from where Cas was leaning.

            "What do you want to watch?" Dean asked, bending over to inspect the shelf of DVDs. Cas smirked.

            "This is good," he said. Dean glanced back over his shoulder, a questioning expression on his face. The teasing expression on Cas' face told him exactly what he needed to know and he flushed bright red before turning back to face the shelf again. He adjusted his position so he was crouching instead, but it left him slightly off balance. He wobbled a bit, tried to reach out to steady himself, but missed the shelf. He crashed into a sitting position, and with a sigh fell backward so he was lying flat.

            "Might as well go all out if I'm going to make a fool of myself," he groaned. Cas chuckled and crawled towards the younger boy, the teasing expression on his face softening into one of fondness before he bent down and kissed Dean's forehead.

            "We'll watch whatever you want, babe. It's your birthday, after all." He helped Dean sit up and sat beside him while Dean searched through the movies, finally pulling a random action movie off the shelf.

            "I don't really care, honestly," Dean said as he pushed the DVD into the player. They moved back towards the couch and Cas settled himself to lean against it again, spreading his legs slightly so Dean could sit between them, his back pressed against Cas' chest.

            Sam and Gabriel joined them a few minutes into the movie, and about an hour later, Mary called to the group from the kitchen.

            "Dinner's ready, everyone." There was a general stampede as five teenagers headed towards the kitchen, Dean and Cas lingering slightly behind the others. By the time they got to the kitchen, Sam had introduced Gabriel to John and Mary, and Anna had re-introduced herself, having met Dean and Sam's parents the year before. Feeling Dean tense up slightly, Cas squeezed his fingers gently between his own as they stepped into the kitchen.

            "So, Dean, are you going to introduce us at any point this evening?" Mary asked lightly, smiling as she finally caught sight of the boy that had been occupying so much of her oldest son's time.

            "Uh, yeah, sorry. Mom, Dad, this is Castiel. Cas, these are...my parents," Dean's voice held a note of nervousness that he could neither explain nor hide.

            "Nice to meet you, Castiel," John said, stepping forward and extending his hand to shake Cas'. Cas released Dean's hand from his grip and reached forward to return the gesture.

            "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Winchester," he replied. "You as well, Mrs. Winchester. Thanks for inviting us over for Dean's birthday dinner." Mary smiled widely.

            "You can call me Mary, Castiel. And he's John. He's just pretending to be intimidating right now. We're happy you're here."  Cas smiled and seemed, for the first time since Dean had met him, to be unable to think of a response.

            Dinner was loud and busy, and it passed quickly with much praise for Mary's pasta. After they had finished the cake, Sam suggested that they go play on the Wii. Gabriel and Anna agreed right away and the three scrambled off, but Dean shrugged.

            " I don't really feel like playing right now." Cas nodded in agreement.

            "Yeah, me neither."

            "Want to hang out upstairs?"

            "Sure," Cas replied.

            "Dean, your door stays open," Mary said. Dean rolled his eyes.

            "Yes mom," he mumbled, his cheeks turning pink again before he stood up quickly and headed towards the staircase. Cas grinned sheepishly.

            "Dinner was really good Mrs.- I mean, Mary," he said, nodding slightly at her before he followed Dean up the stairs to his bedroom.

            A few minutes later, Dean and Cas were on Dean's bed. Cas was leaning on the headboard and Dean was beside him, his head resting on Cas' chest and his arm slung over Cas' torso.

            "Your parents are great," Cas said.

            "Yeah, they're alright," Dean replied with a smile. "They're pretty laid back. I think they're just happy I'm actually being social now." Cas kissed the top of his head.

            "Hey, I've got something for you," he said, leaning over the side of the bed. "I snuck it up here when I went to use the bathroom earlier." Dean glared at him half-seriously.

            "Cas, I told you, you didn't need to get me anything."

            "And I'm pretty sure I told you I didn't care," Cas said teasingly, tipping his head down to kiss Dean. "It's nothing big. I swear." He handed Dean a wrapped square, and Dean began to tear the paper off carefully. There was a CD inside.

            "Bob Dylan?" Dean said.

            "I did tell you I was going to make you listen to him eventually. You can't listen to Zeppelin all the time," Cas teased. Dean grinned.

            "Thanks, Cas," he said, leaning up to kiss his boyfriend before setting the CD on the small dresser beside his bed. Turning back to lean on Cas' chest again, he sat there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of Cas' arms around him, hands rubbing lightly at his lower back before he reached up to kiss Cas again. The kiss was more insistent this time as Dean brought a hand up to the back of Cas' head, swiping his tongue along the other boy's lower lip and pressing inside when his lips parted. Feeling slightly off balance, Dean put his free hand on Cas' shoulder for support and shifted his position so that he was sitting on Cas' lap, using the increased stability to take the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He smiled against Cas' lips when he felt his boyfriend's hands tighten their hold on his lower back, pressing him tightly to Cas' chest. Dean gasped lightly as his hips pressed into Cas' and he broke off the kiss reluctantly, resting his forehead on Castiel's.

            "Ughh..." he groaned. "Gotta stop now before I can't. Parents. Door," he mumbled, trying to arrange his thoughts into a coherent order as he slid off Cas' lap. Cas groaned.

            "Yeah, yeah, you're right. This is a bad idea," he said quietly.

            "Oh no, it's a good idea. A really good idea. Just...a really good idea for another time," Dean said, his voice full of regret. Cas chuckled.

            "Didn't know you had it in you, Dean," he said, leaning over to kiss Dean more gently this time. Dean smirked.

            "Bet there's a few things you don't know about me," he said. Cas grinned broadly.

            "Looks like my boyfriend's not quite the bashful nerd he would seem to be at first," he said, winking at Dean.

            "Ah, you knew _that_ already," Dean said, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm his still-racing heart. "How about I put on that CD you got me?" he asked, rolling off the bed to go to the CD player on his dresser. He hoped that a minute or two of separation from Cas might help some other parts of his body to calm down as well.

            That week at school, Cas finally convinced Dean to let him take him to a movie over the weekend. They decided to go on Saturday night, with Dean spending the night at Cas' afterwards. His parents hadn't been absolutely thrilled with the idea, but when he reminded them that he _had_ stayed there on New Years' without causing trouble, they had reluctantly agreed. Dean was shoving a few necessities into his bag when Sam came into his room.

            "Jeez, Sam, don't you knock?" Dean asked without much venom behind his words.

            "Yeah, whatever, Dean. It's not like you're doing anything important. But look. You've got to tell me about it tomorrow, okay?"

            "About what, Sammy? We're not seeing anything you're interested in."

            "Not the movie, dumbass. The..." Sam paused for a minute before dropping his voice to a whisper. "The _sex._ " Dean turned bright red as his head shot up to look out his unfortunately open door to make sure his parents were nowhere in earshot.

            "Sam!" he hissed. "You can't just _say_ crap like that, mom or dad could hear you! And besides, I don't even know if that'll happen. There _will_ be several other people in the house, and even if it _does,_ I'm not spilling the details to my baby brother! Not like it would help you anyway, in case you haven't noticed, Ruby's got decidedly different plumbing than Cas." Sam's cheeks turned slightly pink and he mumbled something Dean couldn't hear.

            "What?" Dean asked.

            "Ruby's going out with some other guy. I like someone else now, okay?" Sam replied.

            "That was fast. Who is it?" Sam pressed his lips together and shook his head. Dean grinned. "C'mon, Sammy. You can tell me."

            "You'll laugh." The smile fell from Dean's face.

            "It's pretty serious, huh?" he asked. "Who's got my little brother so torn up? Oh, God, it's not Anna, is it? Because that might be a little weird, you dating my boyfriend's sister."

            "Not Anna." Sam replied, the blush in his cheeks darkening. Dean stopped for a minute to think about who he'd seen Sam hanging out with recently. Suddenly, the hairbrush in his hand fell to the floor with a clunk.

            "Sam..." he started. Sam's head dropped slightly. "Sam, do you have a thing for _Gabriel_?" he asked incredulously.

            "He's really nice, Dean, okay?" Sam burst out suddenly. "And he's funny and he helps me with my English homework. Plus, he's got like some candy stash and he always shares with me, even when he won't share with anyone else." Dean grinned.

            "Sam, chill, okay? I think it's cool. I mean, I'm kinda surprised, I figured you were just into girls, but come on, you should know you can trust me on something like this, of all things," he said.

            "Well, I thought I was too, until Gabe. I dunno. It probably won't even come to anything. He's a junior and I'm just a freshman. Don't tell anyone, okay?" Sam's voice was pleading.

            "Yeah, of course, Sammy. Not a word, I promise." Dean picked up his hairbrush from where he'd dropped it and shoved it into his backpack before doing up the zipper. "Look, I've gotta go. Want me to say hi to Gabriel for you? I'm sure I'll see him later." Sam blushed.

            "That's okay..." he said.

            "Nah, I will," Dean replied, grinning. "Don't worry. It'll be a hundred percent casual."

            "Thanks, Dean..." Sam said quietly.

            "Hey, what are brothers for?" Dean asked as he stood up and pulled his backpack onto his shoulders. "See you in the morning, Sam," he said as he left the room and ran downstairs.

            A few hours later, Dean and Cas were walking out of the movie theatre, hands clasped together. They hadn't gotten far from the theatre when  they heard a loud voice behind them.

            "Hey, assholes!" Cas spun around, instinctively pushing Dean slightly behind him. A guy Dean vaguely recognised as a member of the school football team was walking towards them.

            "Got a problem, Billy?" Cas said. "I don't think either of us has done anything to warrant being called names."

            "You're disgusting, that's what you've done. You're abominations." Cas stepped towards the boy, who was shorter than Cas but stocky.

            "Was it you that shoved Dean at school, Billy?" he asked in a low voice.

            "Maybe it was. What're you going to do about it?" Billy taunted. Dean bit his lip.

            "Cas, don't," he whispered, hoping he was quiet enough not to provoke Dylan further.

            " _Cas, don't,"_ Billy mocked. Before Dean knew what was happening, Cas had pulled his arm back and punched Billy hard in the cheek.

            "You little fucker," Billy said, preparing to punch him back. Suddenly, a large figure stepped in between the fighting teenagers.

            "Problem, boys?" It was a security guard from the theatre.

            "Not at all, _Sir,"_ Cas said with forced politeness. "Billy here was just leaving my boyfriend and I alone, wasn't he?" Billy glared at him before walking over to his car, parked at the curb, and drove off.

            "You okay, boy?" The guard asked. Cas swallowed.

            "Fine, thanks. Pretty sure that asshole attacked my boyfriend at school, and he was being an asshat to us both just now."

            "That's my nephew," the man said.

            _Of fucking course._ Cas thought to himself as Dean stepped forward to take his hand again, squeezing it tightly with his own.

            "Sorry I punched your asshole nephew," he said aloud as he squeezed Dean's hand in return.

            "Sounds to me like he deserved it. He's not gonna bother you anymore," said the man. He was an older man with a greying beard and a nametag that read ' _Bobby, Head of Security"_. Cas' mouth dropped open slightly.

            "Um, thanks, Bobby..." he said.

            "No nephew of mine's going to be an intolerant ass. You weren't doin' anything wrong. I'll knock some sense into him." Dean and Cas both started laughing nervously.

            "Thank you, sir, really," Dean said. Bobby nodded at him.

            "Enjoy the rest of your night, boys," he said. Dean and Cas turned, still holding hands, to continue their walk back to Cas' house. The rest of their trip passed without incident, but Dean had been nervous until they'd arrived. They locked the door and went into Cas' room without bothering to tell Anna and Gabriel they were home, collapsing on his bed and holding each other in silence as they both tried to process what had just happened. 


	8. Chapter 8

After the incident at the movie theatre, Dean was left alone at school. The next few weeks were uneventful, his days filled with school, homework, spending time with Cas, and making fun of Sam about his massive crush on Gabriel. Sam was making it too easy, really. Any time they hung out as a group, Sam spent the majority of the time making big moony eyes at the older boy, hanging on to his every word. As a responsible older brother, Dean couldn't possibly let that slide. 

As the middle of February approached, Dean knocked on Sam's door one evening after he'd finished his homework. 

“Come in,” Sam called from inside. Dean opened the door and entered, shutting the door behind him. 

“So, Cas tells me Gabriel's birthday is coming up,” he started. “Cas wants to give him a surprise party.” Sam's face lit up. 

“That's a great idea! Gabe told me he's never really had a birthday party before – he said he wasn't allowed. He'll love a party.” 

“I thought you might be on board. So look, here's what we need you to do. Somehow, Gabe seems to have gotten closer to you than anyone else.” Sam's face flushed, and Dean grinned. “So, day of the party, you've got to distract him after school. Get him to help you with English or something.” Sam nodded. 

“I can do that. When is it going to be?” he asked. 

“A week from Friday. It's a couple of days after his actual birthday, but we figured it was better not to do it on a school night, that way we can all just crash at Cas' place and not have to worry about getting up the next day.” Dean couldn't help but smile at the look of excitement on his brother's face. “What do you think, little brother? Gonna ask him out?” Sam's face quickly morphed into an expression of terror. 

“No way. No. Way. And _you_ aren't going to tell him. Got it, Dean?” Sam's words were quick and panicked. Dean raised his hands in an innocent gesture. 

“Hey, Sammy, I wasn't gonna say anything. Relax, okay?” Sam eyed him with an expression of mild distrust. “Not a word, I swear,” Dean said before turning to leave Sam's room. “I'm gonna crash. I have a test tomorrow,” he said before opening the door and leaving, closing it quietly behind him. 

*****

When the day of the party arrived, Dean pulled Sam aside at lunch. 

“Did you figure something out for after school?” he asked. Sam nodded.

“I've got an essay due next week. Gabe's going to help me edit my rough draft. I made it bad intentionally, so you guys'll have a couple of hours.” Dean grinned at Sam's response. 

“You taking lessons in deviousness from Cas or something?” he asked. Sam smiled and rolled his eyes. 

“Just text me when you guys are ready for Gabe and I, okay?” he said. Dean nodded and the two split off again as the bell rang, trying not to seem conspicuous. Dean jogged ahead to catch up with Cas, who was waiting for him beside the cafeteria doors. 

*****

“Samsquatch, I don't get this,” Gabriel laughed. “You've never written anything this atrocious before. This is a really, really bad essay.” Sam forced an exaggerated frown and shrugged his shoulders. 

“I dunno, Gabe,” he said weakly. “Just...not a big poetry analyst, I guess,” he said. Gabriel stared at him, one eyebrow raised. He was clearly not buying it. 

“Ye-eah...” Gabriel replied, stretching out the word into two syllables. “Sure, Sam.” Sam was fumbling desperately for a response when his phone buzzed on the table. He reached for it quickly, making sure he got to it before Gabriel could see anything on the screen. 

_Ready when you are._

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He was sure he would have cracked if Gabriel had asked him many more questions about the really terrible first draft he'd brought to their study session. He wasn't a great liar at the best of times, and the fact that he kept getting distracted by Gabriel's...well, existence wasn't helping matters. He slid his phone into his pocket. 

“Ugh, I give up for today. C'mon, let's get out of here,” he said, slamming his binder shut and pulling it off the table to put it in his bag. Unfazed as always, Gabriel leaned back in his chair. 

“Sure, kiddo. You wanna keep hanging out?” he asked. Sam's heart beat a little faster as he noted (or at least hoped he noted) a touch of hopefulness in Gabriel's voice. 

“Yeah, Gabe, definitely,” he replied, trying to sound casual. “That was Dean anyway, said he and Cas were gonna have a Star Wars marathon and we should stop studying and come hang out. And if _Dean_ is saying I should stop studying, you know he means business,” he joked, encouraging a wide grin out of Gabriel. 

“Yeah, alright. Let's get outta here then.” Gabriel pulled a package of skittles out of his jacket pocket. “Want some?” he asked as he ripped open the bag and held it out towards Sam. Sam grinned and held out his palm as they started to walk out of the library. 

*****

The walk back to Castiel, Anna, and Gabriel's house from the school passed quickly, with Sam and Gabriel joking the whole way and Sam hoping that he wasn't laughing too loudly at Gabriel's jokes or smiling too widely when Gabriel laughed at his. Sam dropped back a half-step as they walked up to the front door, waiting for Gabe to open the door and go in first. When he pushed open the door and stepped inside, he was greeted with a chorus of shouts. 

“Surprise!” Anna, Dean, and Cas jumped out in front of the door, and Sam shouted from behind. Sam could smell pizza, and he noticed a few balloons scattered around. Dean's doing, he was sure – his older brother had this weird obsession with balloons. Gabriel spun around, a grin threatening to split his face in two. 

“Sammy, you little shit, you were just trying to keep me away from the house with that shitty essay!” he laughed and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Sam in a hug. Sam grinned and tried not to read too much into it as he wrapped his arms in return around the shorter boy. 

A few hours later, the five teenagers were sprawled across the living room, the pizza long devoured and an excellent dent made in the beer that Cas had once again managed to procure for the party. Dean was sitting between Cas' legs on the floor, lounging against his chest; Anna was curled in the armchair, one arm looped around her knees, and Sam and Gabriel were seated next to each other on the couch. Sam glanced down at the bottle in his hand and noticed it was empty. 

“Gonna go grab another one. And chips. Hey Gabe, come help me get some chips,” he said cheerfully. Gabriel grinned and stood up. 

“Sure, Samsquatch,” he said, offering his hand to Sam to pull him up from the couch. Sam placed his hand on Gabriel's palm and grinned as the older boy wrapped his fingers around Sam's hand, pulling him up and forwards and squeezing his hand slightly. He tried not to be disappointed when Gabriel released his hand only a moment after he was upright, not registering that Gabriel had actually kept hold of his hand for a few beats longer than had been strictly necessary. 

“Anyone else want anything while I'm up?” Sam asked. There was a general mumble of negative response, the other three still engrossed in _Return of the Jedi._ “Alrighty then,” he said, walking towards the kitchen with Gabriel close behind. 

“So Gabriel,” Sam said as they entered the kitchen. “Enjoying your party?” Gabriel grinned. 

“Hell yeah,” he said. “You pull this together, Sammich?” he asked. Sam shook his head as he bent down to take a large bowl out of the cupboard. 

“Nah,” he said, standing up and turning around. “Wish I could take credit for that smile on your face, though.” Gabriel smirked. 

“You flirting with me, Sam?” he asked. Sam's cheeks turned pink instantly as he realised what he'd said. 

“No,” Sam scoffed. “'Course not, Gabe, why would you-” he started. Gabriel stepped within an inch of him, effectively cutting him off. 

“What if I want you to flirt with me?” Gabriel asked, looking up at Sam and running his index finger down the much taller boy's chest. Sam's breath stuttered slightly and his mouth dropped open briefly, but before he could answer, there was a series of loud stomps as Dean entered the kitchen. 

“Changed my mind, I need a-” he started, stopping himself suddenly as Gabriel jumped back from Sam. “Oh,” Dean said. “Never mind. I'll uh...come back in awhile.” He turned and left the kitchen quickly, but Sam had already turned to face the counter again, face flushing hot as he dumped the open bag of chips into the bowl and brushed past Gabriel to head back into the living room. 

*****

The next morning was, thankfully, a less hungover affair than the last party they'd had at the Novak household. Everybody woke up with few complaints other than minor headaches and, in Sam's case, crippling embarrassment. He spent the majority of the morning avoiding Gabriel as best as he could. 

The group had been up for a couple of hours when Anna decided to go on her morning run. She left the house with a wave and a promise to be back in an hour. She'd been gone less than ten minutes when Cas remembered something he'd wanted to show Dean on his computer and dragged Dean to the other side of the house. Sam glanced around, positive the panic he felt was radiating from his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Maybe Gabriel didn't remember their conversation the night before. That hope was dashed, however, when Gabriel sat on the couch directly beside Sam. 

“Heya Samsquatch,” he said, his voice much quieter than usual. 

“Hi Gabe,” Sam replied, staring at his hands. 

“You feeling okay this morning?” Gabriel asked. Sam nodded. “You've just been kinda avoiding me, ya know, gonna hurt a guy's feelings.” Sam blushed. 

“Sorry. I didn't mean to,” he said. 

“Sam...” Gabriel said, his voice trailing off as though he was contemplating his next words. Sam chanced a glance up at Gabriel. He caught Gabriel's hazel eyes in his own and before he knew what was happening, Gabriel had leaned forward and pressed his lips to Sam's own. Startled, Sam didn't move, and Gabriel pulled back. 

“Is this okay?” he asked. “I mean, last night, I kind of got the idea we might've been on the edge of something if your oaf of a nerd brother hadn't stumbled in. If I'm wrong, tell me and I'll stop right now.” Sam swallowed hard. 

“You...you weren't wrong,” he said. A grin split Gabriel's face as he leaned forward and ran a hand lightly through Sam's long hair before cupping his cheek and kissing him almost tenderly, Sam responding more readily this time. He shifted his position so that he was sideways on the couch, his legs spread slightly to allow Gabriel somewhere to sit with more stability. 

“Good,” Gabriel mumbled against Sam's lips. “I hate being wrong, and God knows I've been thinking about this since the New Year's party.” Sam's only response was to slide his arms around Gabriel's waist, pulling him closer. 

They were so engrossed in each other that they didn't hear Castiel enter the living room. When he realised what was happening, he abandoned the idea of getting his backpack and retreated back to his bedroom, where Dean was waiting for him. 

“Did you get your bag?” Dean asked. Cas shook his head. “What's wrong, babe? You look kinda shell-shocked,” Dean said. 

“Uh, Dean? I dunno how to tell you this...” Cas said. Dean's face paled. 

“What's wrong, Cas?” he asked. “Is Sammy okay?” He stood up quickly. Cas rested a hand lightly on his chest. 

“Oh, Sam looked perfectly happy,” Cas said. “He was, uh, making out with Gabriel on the couch. I didn't want to interrupt them, so I, well, backed out of the room. Slowly.” Dean chuckled slightly. He'd never seen Cas so stunned. 

“So he finally did it,” Dean mused. “Or at least one of them did.” Cas tilted his head to one side and looked at Dean quizzically. “Sammy's been harbouring a crush on Gabriel for awhile now. I guess they hit it off pretty fast after Gabe got here.” Dean shrugged. “I dunno if I'm totally stoked about it, but it's really only because I don't want Sammy to get hurt,” he said. “I don't care if he's your cousin, if I see one unhappy look on Sam's face, I'll kill him.” Cas grinned. 

“I'm rubbing off on you, huh?” he asked Dean, reaching out to circle the younger boy's wrist with his fingers and pull him closer before wrapping his arms around him. “I believe Gabriel's intentions are good. He really is a good guy, Dean. He's just not had...a lot of stability, before. You know what his living arrangements were like. He has that stability now, with us. I mean, I guess Anna and I aren't exactly a conventional family, but...” he trailed off and shrugged. “I like to think we do okay.” 

Dean smiled at Castiel before leaning forward to drop a light kiss on his forehead. “You do better than okay. You're amazing. If people only knew, Cas...” he said. Cas smiled at him. 

“Nah, I like it better when people are terrified of me. Makes things easier,” he replied. Dean shook his head slightly and bent down to kiss Castiel again, both boys stumbling slightly as Cas pushed Dean towards the bed and sat him down before sitting himself on his boyfriend's lap. 

“I just hope Sammy'll be as happy as I am,” Dean whispered against Cas' lips before he slipped his tongue into Castiel's mouth, deepening the kiss. 

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

 The weeks flew by and before anyone could believe it, Spring Break had arrived. The Friday afternoon before it started was sunny and beautiful despite the predicted rain. Sam, Gabriel, Dean, and Cas decided to go to the park after school. They collapsed on the grass, all four boys laying on their backs and staring at the sky. 

“So, what d'you feel like doing this week?” Gabriel said finally, breaking the unusual silence after a couple of minutes. 

“Nothing,” Sam said, reaching over to twine his fingers through the older boy's. “Absolutely nothing. I want to sleep and watch TV and hang out and I want to do absolutely nothing productive.” 

Gabriel grinned. “Sounds good to me, kiddo,” he said. 

Sam rolled his eyes. “I hate it when you call me that, Gabe,” he whined as he squeezed Gabriel's hand. Gabriel laughed.

“I was thinking about starting to arrange my notes from earlier in the semester to get ready for studying for finals...” Dean said slowly. 

“No way. Not happening,” Cas said laughing. He rolled onto his side and leaned over to kiss Dean. “Sam's plan sounds way better. You're going to relax this break.” Dean smiled up at him. 

“If you insist,” he said. Cas winked. 

“You're getting easy to convince as the semester goes on, you know that?” he laughed. “What happened to the stubborn little nerd who wanted me to leave him alone so he could study for physics?” Dean grinned at him. 

“He got corrupted by this stupidly hot guy, he's got no work ethic anymore, geez,” he said, laughing as he pulled Cas' head down for another kiss. 

“Geez you two, get a room,” Sam said loudly. 

“Ah, shut up, Sammy,” Dean said without any actual malice in his voice. “You've got your boyfriend there, you don't have to be jealous.” They all fell quiet again for a moment before the silence was broken by the sharp ringtone of Cas' phone. He groaned and pulled it out of his pocket. 

“Ugh, I really have to get this,” he said, sitting upright before sliding his thumb across the screen to pick up the call. Putting the phone to his ear, he answered,

“Hi, Uncle Michael. What's up?” Sam, Dean, and Gabriel all shot each other looks. Cas hadn't heard from Michael since New Years', when Gabriel had shown up at their door. Dean's stomach rolled as a wave of anxiety washed over him. He watched his boyfriend's face carefully as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. Dean saw Cas' expression harden and he moved over to sit closer to him, cupping his hand around Cas' hip and squeezing lightly. 

“No.” Cas' voice was determined. He paused again, obviously listening to a response, before continuing. “No, Uncle Michael. Things are going really well. We're all settled and-” he stopped again, clearly cut off. His face grew harder as he answered once more. “It's not happening. I won't let it,” he said firmly as he hung up the phone. He looked around at the others, who were staring at him now with questioning looks on their faces. He just shook his head. 

“I...I gotta go. I gotta deal with some stuff, guys. I'll see you at home later,” he said, looking at Gabriel. Dean assumed Cas knew that he and Sam would be close behind. Cas stood up and walked away quickly.

“What the fuck is going on?” Dean asked, voicing the question he knew they were all thinking. He started to stand up, obviously about to chase after Cas, but Sam grabbed his wrist and held him down, shaking his head. The three boys looked at each other in confusion before standing up in unison and walking in the direction of Cas and Gabriel's house. They walked much slower than Cas had, hoping to allow him the time he clearly needed to sort through his thoughts. 

They arrived at the Novak house not too long later. Gabriel opened the door slowly and they entered quietly. They headed into the living room and found it empty. Sam and Gabriel sat on the couch, but Dean remained standing. 

“I'm going to go see if I can find him,” he said quietly. “You guys wait here?” Sam and Gabriel nodded, making a comical picture as Sam curled up into his much smaller boyfriend's side. Dean smirked. 

“Stay out of trouble, kids,” he said. Gabriel glared at him. 

“I'm older than you, idiot,” he said to Dean's back as Dean left the room, heading in the direction of Cas' bedroom. When he got there, he tapped lightly on the door with a single knuckle. When there was no response, he opened the door slowly to peek inside. Cas was sitting on his bed, his back against the headboard, staring into space. His phone lay on the bed beside him. Dean stepped inside, closing the door behind him. 

“Cas?” he said softly as he moved towards the bed. Cas didn't respond. Dean put his hands lightly on the bed and crawled onto it, sitting close to Cas and wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's waist. “Cas, babe, what happened?” 

“That was Michael on the phone,” Cas finally replied. “Balthazar's going to be here in two days. He's taking Gabriel back. I don't know why it's hitting me so hard. He hasn't been here that long, but...I don't want Michael to take him. Shit was finally going right for once, you know? I have you, and somehow Gabriel just fits in with Anna and I, and I'm actually going to graduate this year, which I never expected with my attendance record, and...it won't be right if Gabriel's not here.” The words came out in a rush that Dean wasn't expecting. He wrapped his free arm around Cas' chest, pulling his boyfriend closer to him. 

“Cas, I'm so sorry...” he said. The words felt empty to him, but he didn't know what else to say. He leaned forwards to kiss Cas gently on the cheek. “We won't let this happen, Cas. I'm not going to let Michael break you like this. We'll figure out a way around it, I swear.” Cas wrapped his arms around Dean, tugging the younger boy onto his lap and holding him tightly. 

“Thanks, Dean,” he said, his voice rougher than usual. Dean snuggled into Cas' chest, placing small kisses from his collarbone up along his neck and jaw. Cas smirked slightly. “Keep that up and you'll certainly distract me, if nothing else,” he said. Dean grinned. 

“Why, Castiel,” he said in a mock-shocked voice. “Are you insinuating you'd like to infringe upon my virtue?” Cas snorted as he began to laugh. 

“You,” he said, kissing Dean hard, “are the weirdest little shit I have ever met.” He crushed his lips to Dean's again, kissing him deeply before resting his forehead on Dean's. “And I love you.” Dean's eyes shot open and he swallowed hard as he moved his gaze to meet Cas'. Cas' eyes didn't waver, but he chewed on his lip nervously. Dean leaned forward to kiss Cas softly, working the other boy's lower lip out from between his teeth. 

“I love you too,” he whispered as he pulled back slightly. “And we'll get through this. I promise. But...” Dean paused, reluctant to continue. “We should tell Gabriel and Sam what's going on. They deserve to know.” Cas nodded. 

“In a few minutes?” he asked, bright blue eyes looking hopefully at Dean. Dean grinned. 

“I can't resist that look and you know it. Yeah, we'll go talk to them in a few minutes,” he replied, twining his fingers in Castiel's hair as he kissed him again. 

*****

“No he fucking won't!” Gabriel shouted. 

“I know, Gabriel. Okay? I know. We are going to do everything we can. We don't want you to go,” Castiel said, squeezing Dean's hand tightly. For all of Cas' tough exterior, Dean knew he still didn't deal well with people yelling at him, even if he knew logically that they weren't angry at him specifically. Sam's face was pressed into Gabriel's hair as he held his boyfriend tightly. He kissed the top of Gabriel's head and the angry expression on Gabriel's face faded until he simply looked upset and scared. To everyone's shock, his eyes filled with tears. 

“I'm happy for the first time since I can remember, Cas. I've got Sammy,” he said, nuzzling against Sam's shoulder, “I'm fucking rocking at school, which I never thought I could do since Balthazar moved me around so much that I was always homeschooled or whatever, and I just...” his voice broke as he trailed off. “I like it here.” Cas nodded. 

“I know, Gabe. I'm going to try calling Michael again, and if it doesn't work I'm going to fight Balthazar on it when he gets here. He's not getting you without a fight. Okay?” Gabriel nodded. 

“Thanks, Cas,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. 

Cas let out a deep breath. “Anytime, Gabe. You're stuck with us now,” he said. “I'm gonna go call Michael.” 

“You want me to come sit with you?” Dean asked, squeezing his hand. 

“Do you mind?” Cas asked him. 

Dean shot him a half-hearted glare. “Clearly,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. 

Cas grinned. “Okay, okay, dumb question,” he said as they turned to leave the room, heading back towards Cas' bedroom where they could be guaranteed quiet. Just as they arrived at the doorway to the living room, Cas glanced back. “Hey, Gabe? If Anna gets back before I'm done talking to Michael, fill her in, okay? She was hanging with Ruby but I think she said she'd be home around dinner so she'll probably be here soon.” Gabriel nodded. 

“Yeah, will do. Thanks, Cas,” he said again. 

*****

“Uncle Michael, please, listen to me,” Cas said desperately into the phone. He'd been talking to his legal guardian for twenty minutes already, and Michael didn't seem keen on listening to Cas' argument. Cas paused, clearly listening to his uncle speak. 

“Yes, I know I wasn't too happy when he first got here. But it's working out really well. Call Balthazar. Call him off. Please. Gabriel's happy here, and he's doing amazing in school and everything. Being here is good for him,” Cas pleaded. He waited for a moment before his face contorted in anger and he threw his phone to the bed. 

“The fucker hung up on me!” Cas exclaimed. Dean shifted instantly, tugging Cas into his lap and holding him close. “Damn it, Dean, I just want him to _listen_ to me,” he said, his voice ragged. 

“I know, baby,” Dean said, rubbing Cas' back. “We'll keep fighting this until the absolute end, okay? I'm here.” Cas clung to him, feeling more helpless in Dean's arms than Dean could ever remember. They sat like that for several minutes, holding each other tightly. 

When Cas finally began to relax, he leaned over and picked up his phone. “I've got one last idea,” he said. He tapped quickly at the screen. From his position directly behind Cas, Dean could see him typing out a text message. 

_Balthazar. Don't come. Please. I'm begging you. -Cas._

With a last sigh of defeat, Cas dropped his phone to the bed and turned to kiss Dean again. 

“That's my last hope,” he said. “I guess we'll see if I've appealed to Balthazar's last scrap of humanity.” Dean's only response was to run his hands slowly along Cas' back as he kissed him hard, his tongue slipping lightly along Cas' lips. 

*****

The next two days passed more quickly than any of the Winchesters or Novaks were comfortable with. The boys were inseparable, save for one night when Mary insisted Dean and Sam come home for the night. Gabriel made no move to pack any of his things, insisting that Balthazar would have to drag him from the house kicking and screaming if he wanted him to go. Anna had spent most of the weekend fluttering around anxiously, making a concerted effort to take care of the four boys who were refusing to take proper care of themselves. The day Balthazar was set to arrive, the minutes began to drag as they all started to stare at the clock anxiously. Around three o'clock in the afternoon, there was a loud knock at the door. Castiel swallowed hard and took a deep breath. 

“I'll get it,” he said. Dean jumped up. 

“I'm coming with you. You're not doing this alone,” he said. Cas stood up slowly and looked at Dean with a half smile on his face. He looked for a moment like he wanted to protest, but he didn't. 

“Thanks, babe,” he said quietly. Dean took his hand and squeezed it as they walked towards the door. When they reached it, Cas swallowed again and reached out to open it. 

“Cassie!” The blonde man at the door greeted him enthusiastically, arms spread wide. 

“Hello, Balthazar,” Castiel said formally. 

“Why so serious, little cousin?” Balthazar asked. “And who's this?” he added, looking at Dean. “Did Cassie finally get his little nerd boyfriend he'd been pining over for a year? I didn't think it possible.” Castiel flushed slightly and glared at the older man. 

“Shut up, Balthazar,” he spat. “You're not taking Gabriel. I won't let you.” Balthazar's forehead furrowed in confusion. 

“Gabri-” he started. “Oh, Cassie, no wonder you're so unhappy to see me. I must have forgotten to reply to that text message you sent me,” he said, a smirk crossing his face. “I really don't care what we do with Gabriel, to be honest with you, I was only picking him up under Michael's orders. If you want him to stay here, it's all the better for me, really. I won't tell Michael if you won't. I've simply got a few of Gabriel's things here,” he said, gesturing behind him at a bag sitting on the step. Castiel's eyes narrowed. 

“You ass. You _knew_ you hadn't replied, you _knew_ what I would think when you got here, you absolute-” He stopped when Dean looked at him. 

“Cas, babe, whatever. He's an ass but we're getting Gabriel. Let's just take the bag and then Balthazar can get lost, okay?” Dean said quietly, shooting a glare at Balthazar when he was done. Balthazar winked at him and Dean rolled his eyes. Balthazar bent down and picked up the bag from the step, tossing it towards Cas. It landed with a thump at Cas' feet. 

“Lovely talking to you cousin, we must do it again soon,” Balthazar said before turning and sweeping down the stairs, walking towards a taxi waiting at the curb. Dean kicked the bag out of the way of the door and shut it quickly. When it was closed fully, Castiel sagged backwards against it and pulled Dean to him. 

“I can't believe that fucker's nerve,” he mumbled into Dean's shoulder “He is such an absolute _asshole.”_

“Yeah Cas. I know. But hey. It's okay now. He's gone, and Gabriel's still here, and Jesus we need to go tell him and Sam and Anna!” Dean said, laughing. “You did it, Cas. You kept him here. It was all you,” he said, kissing Cas briefly. Cas looked at him, his blue eyes brightening as he smiled. 

“Only because of you,” he said quietly as he kissed Dean again before threading their fingers together. Dean blushed and tugged on Cas' hand, pulling him towards the living room to tell the others the good news. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update this. I had midterms and then some health problems and I wasn't able to write, but here it is, finally finished! I hope you've enjoyed this, thanks for sticking around!

The year continued on. In April, posters advertising the senior prom started to go up around the school. Dean eyed them warily. He didn't have a problem with prom exactly – although he wasn't sure if Cas wanted to go, Dean was kind of hoping he did – but the posters were a stark reminder that the end of the year was coming up and that, after summer vacation, Cas would be going to college. He'd managed to send late applications to a few schools, at Dean's encouragement, and had already received preliminary acceptance (pending his final grades) to at least one of them. Dean knew that September was still several months away, but things were finally going smoothly for them. He was dreading being apart from him when Cas inevitably went out of town for college while Dean was stuck at home, finishing high school. He tried to keep the thought shoved to the back of his mind as much as he could, but every so often it surfaced, rendering him totally miserable. 

They were doing homework in Cas' room one day when the subject of prom finally came up. Cas was sitting on his bed, leaning against the headboard reading, and Dean was lying on his stomach on the floor working on algebra problems when he heard a slight thump as Cas dropped his textbook to the bed. When Dean glanced up, Cas had rolled to his stomach, his head peeking over the edge of the bed. 

“Are you done your book already?” Dean asked him before turning back to his algebra problems. 

“Nope,” Cas replied, not moving from where he lay. 

Dean shot him a slightly amused look. “Mmkay... So how do you plan on passing English?” He asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose. 

“Good looks, charm, and a healthy dose of bullshit?” Cas offered lightly. Dean laughed. “C'mon, Dean. We've been working all afternoon,” Cas whined. “We can take a break for a while.” 

Dean tossed his pencil down onto his binder and sat up, swivelling around to face the bed. “Oh? And what'd you have in mind? Better be something good if you're interrupting my absolutely riveting algebra homework,” he winked. 

Cas reached out and grabbed his hand, tugging on it a bit awkwardly. “Come here, I'll tell you all about my plan,” he said, laughing. Dean stood up and stepped towards the bed as Cas sat upright. Suddenly, Cas tugged sharply on Dean's hand and Dean tumbled forward, landing on Cas who fell onto his back, laughing even more. He slid his hands up Dean's back and placed one of them on the back of the younger boy's head, tugging him down so that he could kiss him. 

“You jerk,” Dean mumbled against Cas' lips with a smile on his face. 

“You love it,” Cas said, kissing him hard. Dean just kissed him back in response, sliding his tongue in between Castiel's lips. They kissed lazily for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of their lips on the other's and their hands sliding over each other's bodies. Cas' lips trailed along Dean's jaw and down his neck, and he bit and sucked at Dean's pulse point. Dean moaned softly and ground his hips down against Castiel's, causing Cas to chuckle and slide one hand down to cup Dean's ass. 

“You like that too, huh?” Cas asked, his breath hot against Dean's ear. He licked quickly at Dean's earlobe before kissing down his jaw again, his lips finding Dean's as they kissed more intensely. Dean rolled his hips against Castiel's, his erection steadily growing in his jeans and rubbing against Cas' thigh. “Take that as a yes,” Cas muttered. He held Dean tight and braced his feet against the bed, leveraging them around so Dean's head was on the pillow and Cas was leaning over him, one knee on either side of Dean's hips. He bent down and kissed Dean softly, his lips just brushing Dean's. He lifted one hand and swept it lightly over Dean's cheek. 

“Hey... Open your eyes Dean,” he said quietly. When Dean's eyes fluttered open, Cas rest his forehead lightly against the younger boy's. “You sure about this?” He asked, looking straight into Dean's eyes. Dean responded by reaching up to cup Castiel's ass, pulling him down to press their hips flush against each other. 

“God, yes,” Dean said in a half-whine. Cas smirked and chuckled softly, easing his hips back up and sliding one hand down Dean's chest and over his waist to cup his erection through his jeans. Dean gasped and bucked his hips upward against Cas' palm. Cas slid his hand over to Dean's hip and held him down to the bed lightly. 

“Easy, baby,” he said, smiling down at Dean as he bent his head and kissed him again. Cas sat back on his knees and tugged off his own shirt before leaning forward and pulling Dean up slightly so his shirt could also be removed. Cas tossed both shirts to the side and lay Dean back down, running his hands lightly over Dean's chest. “Jesus, you're hot,” Cas murmured, running his fingertips over Dean's nipples and eliciting a shudder out of him. 

“Says you,” Dean said, trying to reach forward to touch Cas, who was just out of reach. His fingertips could only graze over Cas' stomach, but it was enough to send sparks of pleasure straight to Cas' cock. Cas' hands continued their exploration of Dean's chest before sliding down Dean's stomach to flick open the button on his jeans. Cas bent down to kiss Dean's belly button softly before circling it once with his tongue and then dragging his tongue slowly downwards. He teased it over the patch of skin that was now exposed above Dean's boxers where the button of his jeans was open. Dean let out a soft moan, which was all the encouragement Cas needed. He moved his hands to Dean's hips and hooked his fingers over the waistband of Dean's jeans, tugging them down over his hips and legs and tossing them to the side. Straddling Dean's thighs again, Cas stopped for a moment to stare at his boyfriend. He ran his hands over Dean's thighs, scratching his nails over the sensitive skin on Dean's inner thighs before leaning down and kissing along the waistband of Dean's boxers. Dean whimpered as Castiel's lips moved slowly lower, beginning to mouth at Dean's cock through the soft blue cotton. 

“Cas, _please,_ ” Dean moaned, moving his hands to his own hips to try and shove his boxers out of the way. Cas smiled against him and gave in, lifting his mouth from Dean for a moment to tug the boxers out of the way before bending down again and placing a soft, almost chaste kiss to Dean's shaft. Dean whimpered at the feeling of Cas' slightly chapped lips brushing against his erection. Cas kissed slowly along Dean's cock before licking a slow stripe along the underside from base to tip, then swiping his tongue over the tip to collect the precome that was already collecting there. Dean moaned, loudly this time, as Cas wrapped his lips around the tip of Dean's cock and began to slide down it slowly, working around it with his tongue. He pressed his fingertips into Dean's thighs, revelling in the feeling of Dean tensing beneath him and thrusting his hips hard against the bed to try and get some friction, anything, against his own straining erection. 

“Cas, god, you feel so good,” Dean moaned, gasping as Cas began to suck hard, his cheeks hollowing as he moved along Dean's cock. “Cas... _Cas!”_ He shouted, taken by surprise as his orgasm overwhelmed him and he came hard into Cas' mouth, shaking. Cas swallowed, licking slowly and gently over Dean's cock to clean up the few drops of come that he'd missed before sliding up Dean's body and laying beside him, pulling Dean into his arms. 

“I'm sorry,” Dean whispered as his trembling subsided. Cas looked at him in disbelief. 

“For what?” He asked. 

“For....” Dean paused as his cheeks reddened, clearly embarrassed. “For coming so fast.” 

Cas' face softened as he ran a hand over Dean's hair. “Dean, you don't have to apologise for that,” he said, leaning over to kiss Dean softly before continuing. “It was your first time, babe. It's expected. God, you lasted longer than I did my first time. I came in my pants for fucks' sakes,” Cas said, chuckling at the memory. Dean smiled weakly, clearly still embarrassed, but his smile grew stronger as he leaned over to kiss Cas, his slightly shaky hands coming up to stroke over his boyfriend's shoulders and arms before resting on his hips. He slid his fingertips underneath the waistband of Cas' jeans, running his fingertips along Cas' hipbones. 

“Dean, you don't have to...” Cas said, not wanting Dean to think that he was expecting anything in return. 

Dean looked up from watching his fingers tracing over Cas' hipbones. “But can I?” he asked softly. Cas nodded and Dean wasted no time in ridding the other boy of his jeans and boxers, staring in awe once he was fully naked. 

“What?” Cas asked, laughing nervously. 

“You're beautiful,” Dean said honestly, his eyes locking with Cas' as he wrapped his hand around Castiel's cock and began to slowly stroke it from base to tip. Cas hissed as Dean began to vary the pressure, occasionally twisting his wrist slightly as he reached the tip of Cas' cock. 

“Dean,” Cas whimpered as pleasure shot through him. Dean released Cas' cock briefly so that he could turn around and lean against the headboard of Cas' bed, tugging his boyfriend into a sitting position between his legs and wrapping his arms around Cas' waist to take hold of him again. His strokes were faster this time, encouraged by Castiel's moans and whimpers. Dean rest his chin just behind Cas' shoulder so that he could watch while placing soft kisses to the spot where it met his neck. 

“Tighter, Dean, please,” Cas moaned. “Just a little...” Dean tightened his grip around Cas' cock and kept up his speed, bringing his other hand down over Cas' hip to stroke a finger lightly over his balls. Cas gasped and Dean did it again. 

“Dean, fuck, baby, I'm...” Cas moaned as he came, spilling over Dean's fist and his own stomach. Dean kept stroking him and kissing his neck through his orgasm, only slowing down slightly. When Cas sagged against him, finished, Dean kissed him one last time and held him tightly around the waist with one hand while bringing the hand that had been on Cas' cock slowly to his mouth and flicking out his tongue to taste the milky white liquid on his fingers. When he slipped a finger into his mouth, licking it clean, Cas moaned again. 

“Jesus, baby, you trying to get me going again already?” He said, laughing slightly. Dean pulled his finger from his mouth with a wet pop and bit at Castiel's neck. 

“You got to taste, why don't I?” Dean asked, smiling as he continued to lick his fingers clean. Cas twisted around to kiss the corner of Dean's mouth. 

Sweaty, sticky, and extremely satiated, the two boys sank down lower on the bed until they were laying on the pillows, wrapped in each other's arms. 

“I love you,” Dean said, one finger tracing slow patterns over Cas' chest. 

“I love you too,” Cas said, his voice slightly distant, as though he was thinking about something else. “Dean?” he asked. 

“Mmhmm?” Dean replied drowsily

“D'you....” Cas started, seeming nervous. “I never thought in a million years I'd ask this, but do you want to go to prom with me?” 

Dean's eyes snapped open as he looked up at Castiel. “You want to go?” He asked in disbelief. 

“I didn't think I did, but...yeah. Only if you'll go with me though. We can bring younger students as our dates, and I just think I want to experience it. With you. Come with me?” 

Dean grinned and nodded. “Yeah, Cas. Of course I want to go to prom with you.” Cas' face split into a wide grin and he leaned down and kissed Dean hard before tugging him in tightly to his chest again. Limbs wrapped around each other, they fell asleep. 

*****

April faded into May and May into June, and before anyone could believe it the end of the school year arrived. Finals were stressed over and written, and then it was time for prom. The night of the dance, Dean was in his room, struggling to get his tie on correctly. 

“Ugh, stupid thing!” He shouted, kicking at the wall as he glared at his reflection in the mirror. There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” he sighed. 

Sam opened the door. “Want some help?” 

Dean rolled his eyes. “What, you think you can make sense of this stupid thing?” He grumbled. Sam lifted his hands to Dean's neck and tied the knot quickly and easily. Dean stared at his younger brother in disbelief. “Where'd you learn how to do that?” 

“Youtube,” Sam answered simply. 

“Nerd,” Dean said. 

“You're one to talk,” Sam retorted. Dean grinned as he reached over to the end of his bed to pick up his suit jacket and pull it on. 

“So...how do I look?” He asked nervously. 

“You look great, Dean. That tie was a good choice. Cas isn't going to know what to do with himself when he sees you.” Dean fingered the tie, a dark green one that his mom had said “set off his eyes,” whatever that meant, just as the doorbell rang. He grinned. 

“That's Cas,” he said, heading out of his bedroom to answer the door. He pulled it open and found Cas standing there, with Anna and Gabriel behind him bouncing excitedly. Dean froze as he took in his boyfriend's appearance, his jaw dropping slightly. 

“Hey,” Cas said, his voice slightly rougher than usual. “You look great,” he said quietly. 

“Cas, you look fucking amazing,” Dean said quietly, taking in Cas' simple black suit and blue-grey tie. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Cas' waist, hugging him tightly. “C'mon in. I think my mom wants to take about a million pictures before we leave,” he said, rolling his eyes. Cas grinned and Dean stepped back, letting Cas and the others in. 

A couple of hours later, dinner was over and the dancing had begun. Dean and Cas were mostly sitting in their seats, holding hands and talking, but Dean couldn't resist tugging Cas up to dance when _You Found Me_ by The Fray came on. 

“I know it's lame,” he whispered in Cas' ear, “but humour me?” Cas grinned at him as he wrapped his arms around Dean's waist. 

“You're lucky you're cute,” he said, kissing Dean softly. Dean just grinned and pulled Cas closer in response. 

Two days after prom was the convocation ceremony. Dean sat as close to the front as he could, with Gabriel and Anna flanking him. When Cas' name was called, the three of them started whooping and cheering, causing a commotion above the rustle of contained applause around them. After taking his diploma, Cas looked out at them, grinning widely, and moved the tassel on his cap to the other side. The three sat impatiently through the rest of the ceremony, grateful that the graduating class wasn't particularly big. When it finally ended and the new graduates filed off the stage and into the lobby, Dean was leading the pack of people storming the doors to meet them. He found Cas quickly and wrapped his arms around him, kissing him enthusiastically. 

“Congratulations babe. I knew you could do it. I knew it,” he said, nuzzling against Cas' neck. 

“I didn't,” Cas said. “Not until you came along and kicked me into shape.” Dean blushed and shook his head. Just then, Anna and Gabriel caught up to them from behind. 

“Get outta the way so I can hug my brother, Dean,” Anna laughed. Dean complied, grinning, and Anna wrapped her arms around Castiel. Gabriel jumped behind her and attempted to wrap his arms around both of them, squeezing tightly and causing all four of them to laugh. 

After Cas returned the graduation gown to the gym, he met up again with Dean who was leaning against the wall just outside the gym door. 

“You ready to go for lunch?” Dean asked him. He'd told Cas he wanted to take him out for lunch to celebrate his graduation. Cas nodded enthusiastically and they left the school, fingers intertwined as they walked to their favourite diner. 

Half an hour later, burgers and fries in front of them, Cas noticed Dean staring at his food slightly wistfully as he dragged a french fry through a puddle of ketchup. 

“What's wrong, Dean?” He asked in concern. 

“Nothing,” Dean said quickly, his head snapping up and a smile coming to his face. “So what do you want to do this summer?” He asked. 

“Don't change the subject, Dean. C'mon. I can see something's bugging you.” 

Dean sighed. “It's your graduation day, Cas. I don't want to bring it up.” 

Cas rolled his eyes. “You're not. I am. I'm graduated, I'm done. Come on. What's wrong?” 

Dean bit his lip and thought out his words carefully before he began to speak. “I'm just...I can't stop thinking about how much I'm going to miss you this fall,” he said quietly. “I'm so proud of you for getting into college but I just...I'm going to miss you.” 

Cas reached forward and took Dean's hand from across the table. “Dean, look at me,” he said. Dean's eyes lifted slowly. “You don't have to miss me.” 

Dean's eyes narrowed in confusion. “Why not?” he asked. 

Cas grinned. “I accepted the offer I was given, it's true. But I deferred my attendance for a year. I didn't want to be apart from you for two years. So, I deferred for a year. I'll work, save up some money, and next year...I dunno. Maybe I'll go. Maybe I'll find something better close to home.” He stroked his thumb over the back of Dean's hand. “I've only just gotten you, really. You think I was going to be pulled away from you that easily?” 

Dean's eyes filled with tears that he scrubbed away quickly with his free hand, embarrassed. “You deferred going to college...for me?” He asked incredulously. 

“Baby, until you, I didn't even think I had a chance at college,” Cas said quietly. “I couldn't bear the thought of being there without you.” Dean bit his lip to fight back the tears that were pricking at his eyes again and swallowed hard before picking up a french fry and popping it into his mouth, chewing furiously. 

“Thank you,” was all he could think to say after he swallowed, his voice low. Cas chuckled and leaned over the small table to kiss him softly. When he sat back down, he released Dean's hand and they both began to eat. Dean sighed happily, suddenly eager for the summer to bring on all it could. 


End file.
